cover-up

COVER-UP

111111111n

THE GOVERNMENTAL CONSPIRACY

TO CONCEAL THE FACTS ABOUT THE

PUBLIC EXECUTION OF JOHN KENNEDY

COVER-UP

THE GOVERNMENTAL CONSPIRACY

TO CONCEAL THE FACTS ABOUT THE

PUBLIC EXECUTION OF JOHN KENNEDY

J. GARY SHAW

WITH

LARRY R. HARRIS

Limited First Edition of 3000 copies, of which this is

Number

386

Published and copyrighted, 1976 by J. Gary Shaw

Both foreign and domestic users are restricted in the publication of any materials herein, with the

exception of matters of public record and knowledge contained herein.

DEDICATION

To my wife Sandra and daughters Kerri, Danell and Kristen,

whose unselfish support has been a source of encouragement

and strength.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While there may be minor differences of

opinion on certain aspects of John Kennedy's

murder, we agree wholeheartedly with Penn Jones,

Jr.; there was a conspiracy to kill the President,

and there is to this day a conspiracy on the part of

government officials to conceal the facts relating to

the assassination. We concur in essence as to the

force responsible for Kennedy's death. Mr. Jones,

who may be considered the first independent

researcher into this case, has been honest and

straightforward in presenting evidence of both

stages of the conspiracy. His research—published

in four volumes entitled Forgive My Grief—is

invaluable. Likewise invaluable has been his

assistance, cooperation and advice in the

preparation of this book. We are deeply indebted to

Penn Jones, Jr.

Special thanks must go to the following in-

dividuals: Robert Groden, Richard Sprague,

Ronnie Dobbins, Jim West and Jeff T. Wallace for

photographic contributions and assistance in

assembling and reproducing the many pictures

contained in this book. To Jim Wallace, James

Walker and Howard Upchurch. And especially to

Mary Ferrell, a friend and fellow-researcher, for her

willingness to share information gleaned from her

brilliant and meticulous research.

Enough can not be said about the tiny army of

private citizens who have made many personal

sacrifices trying to complete the task left un-

finished by the Warren Commission. They are to be

commended for their efforts, courage and criticism

of the government's false version of the

assassination at a time when it was unpopular to do

so. In particular: Sylvia Meagher, Harold

Weisberg, Jim Garrison, Josiah Thompson and Dr.

Cyril Wecht.

About the Author . . . .

J. GARY SHAW,an architect, has been research-

ing the Kennedy assassination since the Warren

Report was issued in 1964. Results of his research

have appeared previously in Penn Jones' Forgive

My Grief series.

Shaw, who is married and has three daughters,

lives in Cleburne, Texas, where he continues to

research and lecture on the flaws and con-

tradictions in the Warren Report.

About the Co-Author . . . .

LARRY R. HARRIS, a journalism student, began

studying the JFK assassination in 1966, at the age

of 15; he initiated active research in 1971. Like

Gary Shaw, he is a contributor to the Forgive My

Grief series.

Harris lives in Dallas, where he continues to in-

vestigate and speak publicly about President

Kennedy's assassination.

C:)

aYtYu-41J 5-15-74

COVER-UP

No assassination conspiracies in America? Most history books leave that impression. We are led to believe that the assassin of

President Abraham Lincoln—an actor named John Wilkes Booth—was a "lone nut." It is not generally known that Booth was

only one figure in an eight-member [at least] group that conspired to kill Lincoln, Vice-President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of

State William Seward. On April 14, 1865 in Washington, D. C., Booth fatally shot the President in Ford's Theatre and his cohort

Lewis Paine critically stabbed Seward; Vice President Johnson's life was spared when a third member of the plot, George At-

zerodt, lost his nerve at the last moment. Like Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth was shot to death before he could be

brought to trial. As this photograph shows, four of his co-conspirators [Paine, Atzerodt, David Herold and Mary Surratt] were

later hanged. No, America does not yield organized conspiracies which plot the murder of the President. Only lonely, mentally-

deranged losers who seek attention. Only lone nuts . . . .

viii COVER-UP

18. Billy Nolan Lovelady—Thought shots came

from the knoll or from across the street. 6:338;

22:662; 24:214

19. Judith L. McCully—From right side of arcade

building. TAG1:465

20. Austin Lawrence Miller—Shots came from his

left (he was standing on the Triple Underpass).

6:225; 19:485; 24:217

21. A. J. Millican — Shots came from the pergola.

19:486

22. Joe R. Molina—Shots came from west side (he

was on steps of TSBD). 7:219; 24:326

23. Thomas J. Murphy—Shots came from spot

just west of TSBD. 22:835; CD897:12

24. Mrs. P. E. (Jean) Newman—Shots came from

her right (west). She was standing halfway

from TSBD to Stemmons Freeway sign.

19:489; 22:843; 24:218

25. William E. Newman, Jr.—Shots came from

"garden" directly behind Newman (he was

standing at east end of pergola). 19:490;

22:842; 24:219; New Orleans States Item, Feb.

17, 1969

26. Mrs. William V. (Roberta) Parker—First shot

came from pergola. 22:667; CD205:504;

CD735:9

27. J. C. Price—Assumed shots from Triple

Underpass. CD5:65

28. Frank E. Reilly—Shots came from trees at

west end of pergola on north side of Elm. (He

was standing on Triple Underpass.) 6:230;

CD205 :29

29. Mrs. A. L. Rowland—Shots came from railroad

yard. 6:177; 19:493; 24:224; 26:169

30. W. H.(Bill) Shelley—Shots came from west (he

was on TSBD steps). 6:327; 7:390; 22:673;

24:226

31. Police Officer Edgar Leon Smith, Jr.—Shots

came from railroad tracks or grassy knoll area.

7:565, 568; 22:604

32. Officer Joe Marshall Smith—Thought shots

came from Elm Street extension, bushes of the

overpass. 7 :351; 22 :600

33. Secret Service Agent Forrest Sorrels—Shots

came from knoll; 'top of terrace to my right'.

7:340; 21:548; CD3

34. James Thomas Tague— Shots came from

bushes at pergola. 7:554

35. Roy S. Truly—Shots came from west of TSBD.

7:219; CD5:322, 324

36. Deputy Sheriff Harry Weatherford—Shots

came from railroad yards. 19:502

37. County Surveyor Robert M. West—Shots

came from northwest quadrant of Dealey Plaza.

Dallas Morning News Feb. 14, 1969

38. Lupe (Lucy) Whitaker—Shots came from west

of TSBD. TAG1:470

39. Otis Neville Williams—Came from direction of

the Triple Underpass. 22:683

40. Steven F. Wilson—Shots came from west end

of building or pergola; not from above. (He was

on 3rd floor of TSBD.) 22:684; 24:535; CD735:9

41. Mary Elizabeth Woodward—Possibly came

from overpass. 24:520; CD7:19

42. Abraham Zapruder —Shots came from in back

of him. 7:571

These statements, plus the evidence available

in the Zapruder and Nix films,seem conclusive of a

conspiracy to us.

Albert Camus wrote that "an Oriental wise

man always used to ask the Divinity in his prayers

to be so kind as to spare him from living in an

interesting age." Not only is this age interesting, it

is downright dangerous. A researcher into the

Lincoln death admonished me that it was much

safer working on the hundred year old

assassinations. This danger may explain why so

many newspaper writers and more especially the

legal profession avoid the American assassinations

and the implications on all our lives.

Now the perpetrators of our assassinations are

so fully occupied in trying to maintain their

position that they have failed to perceive that our

national strength is almost gone. National strength

depends on the attitude of millions of men in battle

who feel their cause is worth their dying. We know

now from Vietnam that our strength has drained

away from our men's knowledge that they have

been lied to by our leaders over and over again.

It is pitiful to watch Congress—now as im-

potent as a herd of steers. They "paw and beller,"

but can do nothing but vote "Yes" for the Pen-

tagon.

A nation is not great when the President is

murdered and the judicial, legislative and executive

branches of government scramble to cover up

mountains of evidence and ignore scores of im-

portant witnesses.

In a real democracy men like Roger Craig, Lee

Bowers and S. M. Holland would have been heard;

would have been honored for their truthfulness.

Instead they died disappointed and broken because

the investigating public officials ignored and

denied their first-hand testimony.

Penn Jones, Jr.

April, 1976

PREFACE

This book is for the average citizen. It is not

written for the critics of the Warren Commission,

and they will find that much of its content is a

recapitulation of information known to them for

years. This information, however, is not generally

known or understood by the public. There have

been, in the years since 1963, a number of excellent

and invaluable books which have challenged and

destroyed the Warren Report. These in-depth

studies, with few exceptions, have been written by

researchers for the benefit and use of fellow

researchers. Because of this, the information they

contain is minute in detail and a reader lacking

background on the subject quickly finds himself

lost or bored. Hence, another book on the

assassination.

Cover-Up will, in all liklihood, never be ranked

alongside works like Silvia Meagher's Accessories

After the Fact. It is, however, an important book

and one we believe to be long overdue. In effect,

theis a primer on the suppression aspect of the

assassination, written as simply and concisely as

possible and accompanied by many photographs

with which the reader may follow more easily the

events surrounding this crime. Many of the

photographs found herein are published for the first

time. Some of these photos have little or no

significance to the text of the book and are

published in the hope that some of the witnesses

contained in them will come forward, identify

themselves, and give their testimony of the events

of that fateful day.

The central thrust of this book is to attempt to

show, in the most simple manner possible, some of

the acts of certain authorities in their attempt to

conceal the overwhelming evidence of a conspiracy

to murder President Kennedy. These acts included

the alteration, destruction and suppression of the

various forms of evidence in the case.

Evidence of the complex conspiracy and the

ensuing cover-up which is exposed in this book is

more than ample to demand a new investigation. In

1963 it was not a federal crime to kill the president.

The assassination was simply another murder

under Texas State law and the investigation of the

crime should have been conducted accordingly.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Instead, Jack

Ruby, crony of cops and crooks, was escorted into

the basement of the Dallas Police Department and

allowed to execute the alleged assassin. Then, "Big

Brother," with its new Texas president, stepped in

and took over. In doing so, it was declaring to one

and all that the state was no longer capable of

handling its own affairs. The consequences of this

act are now quite evident. The writers believe that

it is now time to slap the wrist of "Big Brother."

We advocate the re-opening of the murder case in

Texas, under Texas law and with a Texas Grand

Jury.

COVER-UP

This new Texas Grand Jury should be con-

vened immediately with full subpoena power and

an unlimited budget. It should be held in Dallas in

order that the witnesses who are still in and around

theiarea can easily testify. The vast majority of the

witnesses to the murder are still available. It is not

too late to hear them. We agree wholeheartedly

that eyewitness testimony is not the best evidence

in a case, but when it is found that the majority of

the eyewitnesses agree with each other and that

what they saw and heard fits with the physical

evidence, then this testimony becomes good and

persuasive evidence.

Too, this new investigation should be con-

ducted without the assistance of Dallas District

Attorney Henry Wade. The only part he and his

staff should have in a new inquiry should be as

subpoenaed witnesses whereby they would be

called on, under oath, to tell of their knowledge of

the events of November 22, 1963 and its aftermath.

Mr. Wade (a former FBI agent) and his assistant

Bill Alexander (a close friend of Jack Ruby) were

less than zealous in pursuing the vast and over-

whelming evidence of conspiracy. This lack of zeal

may well be attributed to severe pressure from a

very high federal source. If this was the case (and

there is strong evidence to this effect) then it only

portrays_the total lack of intestinal fortitude, and

hence culpability on the part of the District At-

torney's office. These men were not anxious to

"rock the boat" twelve years ago and there is

absolutely no indication of a change of attitude in

recent years.

Why not a congressional investigation as has

been called for in recent months? Simply because

any federal re-opening of the investigation would

probably involve, to some extent, the same

agencies who participated in the original cover-up.

There is extreme doubt as to the willingness of

these agencies in taking the steps required to

expose their own manipulated evidence. Also, there

are just too many ties in our present federal

composition to the power we feel is responsible for

the assassination. It was from the federal level that

we received the dishonest report in 1963. It is from

the federal level that we have consistently received

further deceitfulness in order to perpetuate that

dishonest report. We see no reason, under the

present administration, to expect anything dif-

ferent. We can find no basis for trust on a federal

level where assassinations are concerned, whether

they be domestic or foreign.

In Chapter 7 the questions are posed: Cui

Bono? (Who Gained?). Who had reasonable motive

to remove Kennedy from office and benefit or profit

thereby? Who had the power and resources to kill

an American President? Who could manipulate a

cover-up involving federal agencies and

authorities, and prolong the cover-up for more than

a decade? Who could be powerful enough to per-

suade or command some of the highest officials of

our government to perjure themselves to the

American public? To answer these questions we

speculate as to where we feel the responsibility for

the Kennedy assassination lies. We ask that

"Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?" be read with

an open mind.

In the final chapter we answer the question

most asked by those who finally realize the

enormity of the Kennedy assassination: ". . . if all

this was involved in the killing of our president,

what hope do we have?" Again we ask that this

short chapter entitled "The Hope" be read with an

open mind.

J. Gary Shaw

March, 1976

FOREWORD

"Our great national nightmare is over,"

remarked Gerald R. Ford upon assuming the

Presidency after Richard Nixon was forced to

resign in disgrace. It was a premature and overly-

optimistic judgement on the part of the new

President-by-appointment, for the nation had yet

to learn of the criminal atrocities and cover-ups

conducted by J. Edgar Hoover's Federal Bureau of

Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Bureau, we would learn, destroyed and

withheld evidence from the Warren Commission;

carried on a vicious vendetta against Martin

Luther King; and illegally conducted its own

counterintelligence program ("Cointelpro") which

included, among other things, break-ins and

domestic spying. The CIA, we would learn, worked

glove-in-hand with the Mafia in trying to kill Fidel

Castro; planned and carried out assassination plots

against other foreign leaders; experimented with

drugs and behavior control, using unwitting

human guinea pigs; and conducted its own massive

and illegal domestic spying program.

The shocking and disgusting revelations about

these two agencies are a continuation of episodes

which constitute a national nightmare that began

at least as early as November 22, 1963. These

episodes have shaken the confidence of the people,

threatened the very foundations of our government

and have destroyed our credibility and respect

abroad. A dark mood of mistrust and suspicion

lingers over the land, and it is not difficult to

understand why. The United States' record for the

past 12 years is not one to be proud of.

It includes the Vietnam debacle in which

untold billions of dollars—and 50,000 American

lives—were wasted in an undeclared war being

waged for reasons that no one seems to understand.

The record includes the lies and attempted cover-up

of Watergate, which brought about the

resignations of the highest officials of our govern-

ment. As a result, this nation began its 200th year

with a President and a Vice President, neither of

whom were elected by the people.

And the record includes four assassinations: a

murdered President, a murdered Presidential

candidate, the near-murder of another Presidential

hopeful and the killing of the civil rights

movement's leading figure.

Moreover, it is an ominous and frightening

realization when one stops to think that not since

1960 has the United States held a truly democratic

Presidential election. The last three elections in this

country have been decided by bullets rather than

ballots. The assassination of President John

Kennedy brought Lyndon Johnson to power,

enabling him to win a sweeping victory in the 1964

election. The murder of Senator Robert Kennedy

made possible Richard Nixon's narrow victory in

bloody 1968. And the attempt on the life of

Presidential contender George C. Wallace insured

Nixon's re-election landslide of 1972.

And even though all evidence is to the con-

trary, the government assures us that each

assassination was the act of one lone "nut," a

xii COVER-UP

lonely, deranged individual acting of his own ac-

cord. Do Americans accept the government's "no

conspiracy" explanations for these murders? No,

they do not. A poll taken by CBS News and

released on the 12th anniversary of President

Kennedy's death revealed that a mere 15 per cent of

our population believes that Lee Harvey Oswald

alone was responsible for the assassination. CBS

also found that 53 per cent believe a conspiracy

killed Robert Kennedy, and that only 19 per cent

accept an Arthur Bremer/Lone Nut thesis in the

George Wallace shooting. (Why, then, has there

been a lack of vocal and written protest about new

investigations into these assassinations? Rather

than demand of Congress and the White House

that we be given truthful solutions to these

murders, the so-called Silent Majority has

remained all too silent. This apathy suggests that

Americans have developed an aversion to the

truth).

Much of the skepticism, of course, stems from

the Watergate scandal. That affair, as we now

know, was a high-level conspiracy to commit a

crime and then to cover-up the facts about that

crime. It involved the lowest of intelligence world

operatives and the highest of wealthy contributors.

The crime involved "mechanics" (operatives) of the

Central Intelligence Agency and anti-Castro

Cubans. The cover-up included the Agency, the

FBI, the Justice Department and the President of

the United States. Those who have studied and

researched the JFK assassination know that it and

the Watergate scenario are all too similar.

Following the foiled break-in of Democratic

Party headquarters in the Watergate office

complex, the first official reaction was to insist that

it was the act of five petty burglars acting as in-

dividuals; in other words, five lone nuts. That

explanation was necessarily voided when it was

discovered that burglar James McCord was

Director of Security for the Committee to Re-Elect

the President (CREEP), and that suspect E.

Howard Hunt, a long-time CIA agent, was

CREEP's White House contact.

A quasi-investigation, like that conducted by

the commission looking into President Kennedy's

murder, was launched; Attorney General Richard

Kleindeinst assured us that the entire matter had

been investigated with the thoroughness of the

Warren Commission(!). Kleindeinst was correct,

for it quickly became evident that the "in-

vestigation" was actually a non-investigation

designed to conceal the truth from the public (just

like the Warren Commission). When the truth

finally did come out, it was learned that the con-

spiracy to hide the facts reached into the highest

echelon of government—all the way to the White

House Oval Office.

We learned, too, of another conspiracy and

cover-up involving the Nixon Administration.

Nixon's hatchet-men waged an all-out campaign to

destroy George Wallace's bid for the Presidency in

1972. Actually, the stop-Wallace effort began in

1970 when Nixon attorney Herbert Kalmbach

secretly funneled $400,000 to Wallace's guber-

natorial oponent, Albert Brewer (who narrowly lost

the election).

Nixon aide H.R. Haldeman actually coor-

dinated a secret Wallace vendetta from the White

House. He personally instructed the Internal

Revenue Service to find reason to attack Wallace's

brother and law firm. John Mitchell and Jeb

Magruder paid $10,000 to California Nazis in an

attempt to embarrass the Alabama governor.

Donald Segretti arranged for Hitler cards to be

placed on cars at a Wallace rally. Gordon Liddy

headed a major program trying to remove

Wallace's third party from various state ballots.

When Wallace was shot in May, 1972—one

month before the Watergate break-in—Nixon

henchmen immediately intervened in the in-

vestigation of the assassination attempt. Within an

hour of the shooting in Laurel, Maryland, White

House counsel Charles Colson reportedly was

instructing E. Howard Hunt to fly immediately to

Milwaulkee to plant material in Arthur Bremer's

apartment which would link him to the left-wing.

Colson telephoned W. Mark Felt, assistant director

of the FBI, immediately after the shooting, and it

is interesting to note that the Bureau did not seal

off Bremer's apartment for at least three hours.

The obvious question that comes to mind is: did the

FBI leave the apartment unguarded so that Hunt

could get there first to plant evidence linking the

would-be assassin to the left—or remove evidence

linking him to members of Nixon's re-election

organization? It was during this period that the

press and curious citizens had complete access to

the Bremer apartment, and no one knows what, if

any, evidence was stolen or destroyed. Too, Colson

has admitted to being in constant contact with

Nixon that same afternoon and evening—and it

would be interesting to know just what is contained

in the still-suppressed White House tapes of May

15, 1972. Later, the Treasury Department's

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division took away

the Milwaulkee Police Department's file on

Bremer.

Bearing in mind that the attempt to conceal or

Foreword xiii

distort evidence and information is proper

suspicion of guilt, two things are certain: (1) The

Nixon Administration in serious, unethical and

illegal ways attacked a legitimate Presidential

contender who threatened Nixon's chances of

winning the 1972 election; (2) That same ad-

ministration unethically intervened in the in-

vestigation of the Wallace shooting, apparently

using governmental agencies to commit illegal acts

and partisan activity to control the investigation.

No one now doubts that there was a high-level

conspiracy to commit the Watergate break-in, and

that there was an attempt to cover-up proof of the

conspiracy. Few doubt that there was a cover-up in

the investigation of the Wallace shooting, and

some (as Wallace himself has hinted) believe that

there may have been a high-level conspiracy to

remove the controversial governor by

assassination.

We believe that in this book we have put forth

a reasonable alternative to the unacceptable lies

and misinformation disseminated by the United

States government about the murder of John

Kennedy.

It is by no means a complete reconstruction,

and it will remain incomplete as long as the cover-

up is prolonged by federal authorities and major

segments of the mass media. Many, many

questions remain unanswered. How could so

complex a conspiracy be kept quiet? (How did E.

Howard Hunt successfully blackmail the President

of the United States by threatening to reveal past

covert and illegal activities?). Why has no major

figure in the conspiracy come forward? Why has

the news media—which was so persistent in

unearthing the lies and deception of Vietnam and

Watergate—been so apathetic in reporting the

facts about this case (focusing its attention instead

on hostile criticism of those of us who insist on

finding the truth)? The list goes on.

These questions are not for us to answer. That

responsibility lies with the government. But

because they have prolonged a cover-up of facts for

more than 12 years, we have no reason to expect

answers or a truthful solution from federal

authorities. It is unnecessary that we even address

ourselves to this. Nor is it important that the

reader agree with the authors as to who was

responsible for the crime—the point remains: there

was and is a cover-up which involves agencies and

individuals at the highest levels of government.

We realize that some episodes mentioned in

this book may be easily and innocently explained.

We are aware of our ability to make the same errors

we accuse federal officials of making. However,

what has been presented here is as factual as

possible, based on the available evidence. We

believe that our "report" of events related in

Chapter 6 ("The Execution") and Chapter 7

("Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?") is far more

credible than the scenario presented by our

government. The reader need not be reminded of

the government's lies and deceit regarding

previously mentioned episodes like Vietnam and

Watergate. Frankly, the U.S. government's record

for truthfulness to the people is a disgraceful one.

We see no reason to believe any official statement

regarding the JFK assassination.

As this book demonstrates, there is a high-

level governmental conspiracy which has at-

tempted for more than 12 years to cover up the

facts surrounding the murder of President Ken-

nedy. Those participating in the cover-up include

the heads of the FBI, the CIA and the Justice

Department. And it includes the man who

became—small thanks to Richard Nixon—

President of the United States by appointment:

Gerald Ford of the Warren Commission.

It is the federal government that maintains the

guilt of an innocent Lee Oswald; that continues to

conceal the truth from bewildered citizens. We

believe that those responsible for the assassination

of John Kennedy are still in control (covert though

that control may be) of the individuals who are

supposedly the leaders of our government. Until

their immense power is taken away, until America

provides once again a government of, by and for

the people, there is little chance for this democracy

to survive. Unless the people of this nation turn to

the one true hope, our great national nightmare is

not over. It has only just begun . . . .

xiv COVER-UP

CONTENTS

Introduction by Penn Jones, Jr. vii

Preface ix

Foreword xi

CHAPTER ONE: THE TESTIMONY

I. Testimony Ignored

The Single-Bullet Theory Revisited 3

Commission Members Debunk the Single-Bullet Theory 6

Governor & Mrs. Connally Dispute Single-Bullet Theory 6

Expert Testimony: Doctors Refute Single-Bullet Theory 7

Fifty-One Witnesses: Shots From the Knoll 8

Julia Ann Mercer: A Rifleman on the Knoll 10

Lee Bowers: Three Unauthorized Vehicles Behind the Knoll 10

Two Strangers Behind the Wooden Fence 11

S. M. Holland and Others: The Puff of Smoke 11

J. C. Price: Escape From the Knoll 12

Two Men on the Sixth Floor of the TSBD 12

"If You Didn't See Oswald . . . You Didn't Witness It." 13

Confirmed: A "Get-Away" Vehicle 14

Jack Ruby: "I Want to Tell the Truth, and I Can't Tell it Here 19

Captain Frank Martin: "There is a lot to be said . . . " 20

Relevant Witnesses Not Called 21

II. Testimony Suppressed

"I Was Trying to Hold His Hair on 22

Unwanted Testimony (Off-the-Record Passages) 23

III. Testimony Altered

Ruby Stripper: Testimony Not Accurately Recorded 25

Julia Ann Mercer Again: Even her Signature

was Forged 26

Roger Craig Again: "The Pattern Was so Consistent 26

Contents acv

The Wages of Truth 27

A Key Witness: Testimony Suborned 28

David Belin: From Small-Time Lawyer to

Big-Time Prostitute 28

CHAPTER TWO: THE PHOTOGRAPHS

I. Photographs Ignored

The Zapruder Film 32

Robert Groden: A New Look at the Zapruder Film 33

The Umbrella Man: A Visual Coordinator for the Assassins? 34

The Moorman Photograph: The Shape Behind the Fence 35

The Hughes Film: Two Men on the TSBD Sixth Floor 38

The Nix Film: The Assassination and the Knoll 38

Other Important Films: Assassination and Aftermath 39

The Altgens Photograph : Assassin or witness? 39

II. Photographs Altered

The Walker Photograph and a Mystery Vehicle 43

The World's First Head Transplant 47

III. Photographs Suppressed, Destroyed or Lost

Another Mary Moorman Photograph 50

Similas: "I was told that this negative had somehow

become lost." 51

The Babushka Lady: Her Film 51

. . . . and Her Story 54

Nixon and the Assassination of President Remon 54

Nixon and the Bay of Pigs 55

Nixon in Dallas, November 20-22, 1963 55

Oswald and Ruby 56

CHAPTER THREE: THE MATERIAL EVIDENCE

I. Material Evidence Altered

The Location and Extent of Kennedy's Back Wound 60

The Nature of Kennedy's Throat Wound 63

The Sixth Floor Sniper's Nest 66

II. Material Evidence Suppressed

A Possible Wound of the Left Temple 70

Autopsy Photographs and X-Rays 71

Other Bullets 72

Actual Results of Spectrographic Analysis 76

Actual Results of Neutron Activation Analysis 76

"Missing": JFK's Brain and Skin Tissues 77

III. Material Evidence Destroyed

The Presidential Limousine 77

Governor Connally's Shirt and Suit 78

The Original Autopsy Notes 78

Notes Taken During Oswald's Interrogation 79

xvi COVER-UP

CHAPTER FOUR: OTHER SUSPECTS ARRESTED AND RELEASED

Arrests . . . . Tramps or Assassins? 82

More Arrests . . . . The Dal-Tex Building 84

Still More Arrests . . . . Two Men in Ft. Worth 88

Right-Wing Kennedy Hater in Dealey Plaza? 89

Jack Lawrence: The Lying Car Saleman 90

One More Arrest That Night . . . . Oswald's Chauffeur 90

. . . .And an Arrest in New Orleans: "One of History's Most

Important Individuals" 91

No Conspiracy . . . . Oswald Alone Committed the Crime 94

CHAPTER FIVE: UNFOLLOWED LEADS

"Secret Service Agents" in Dealey Plaza Following

the Shooting 98

Dallas Police Car #207 99

Harry Olsen: The Forgetful Flatfoot 102

Stolen License Plates—Tools of the Trade 102

Stolen Plate at the Tippit Scene 102

Stolen Plate from Georgia 103

"Borrowed" License Plate? 103

Two Oswalds? 104

The Mexico "Oswald" 106

"False Oswalds" 107

More "Oswalds" 109

Witnesses Topple, Business as Usual 112

The Warren Commission is guilty of Malfeasance 113

CHAPTER SIX: THE EXECUTION

The Execution: Dealey Plaza Revisited 117

Shot #1 122

Shot #2 128

Shot #3 132

Shot #4 140

Shot #5 148

Shot #6 152

Shot #7 158

Conclusion 161

CHAPTER SEVEN: SPECULATION: WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

The Right-Wing? 167

Right-Wing Extremist Gives Blueprint for

Assassination 169

Texas Oilmen? 170

Fidel Castro? 171

Organized Crime? 171

The Secret Service? 173

Hoover and the FBI? 176

Hoover and the Commission 176

Hoover and Spectrographic Analysis 178

The FPI and Oswald 178

Contents xvii

FBI Agent Hosty and Oswald 178

The Oswald Note 179

Tip to FBI Warned of JFK Assassination Attempt 180

Tip to FBI Warned of Oswald Assassination Attempt 180

The FBI and Marina Oswald 180

The FBI at the Texas Theatre 182

The FBI and Jack Ruby 182

Presence of Hoover in Dallas on Nov. 21, 1963 182

Hoover's Power 183

L. B. J.9 184

The Ruby Letter: "Johnson and Others . . . They Alone

Planned the Killing" 185

LBJ Ducked in Dealey Plaza 186

Orders From the Top 186

A Fable: Welcome to the Club 188

Foreign or Domestic Sources? 189

The United States Military— Industrial Complex With its Intelligence Apparatus9 189

1961-62: Thinking the Unthinkable 190

Possible Motives of the Military 191

(a) The Bay of Pigs 192

(b) The Cuban Missile Crisis 192

(c) Planned Detente with Castro's Cuba 192

(d) The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 192

(e) Efforts to End the Cold War 193

The Case For Military Involvement 193

Army Protection Cancelled 193

Military Intelligence Personnel Present in Dealey Plaza 194

The Autopsy 194

The President and the Bagman 198

Who's in Command? 199

Communications Breakdown 199

In Dallas: Police Radio 199

In Dallas: Motorcade Press Telephone 199

In Washington, D. C.: Telephone system 199

Abroad: Official Code Book "Missing" 199

From Washington: "No Conspiracy" 200

Operation Big-Lift 200

The Commission: Men With Military-CIA Allegiance 200

Conclusion 200

202

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE HOPE

Political Failure 208

Economic Failure 209

Educational Failure 210

Church Failure 210

The Abundant Life 211

The Hope 211

APPENDIXES 214

BIBLIOGRAPHY 216

INDEX 219

RAMBLER STATION WAGON

COUNTY RECORDS BLDG.

TERMINAL ANNEX BLDG.

Location of important witnesses and landmarks, Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas; November 22, 1963, 12:30 p.m.

3 COVER-UP

The Warren Commission: Seven judges and no jury. [Bottom]

26 Volumes of allegedly-supporting evidence for the Report.

important crimes in United States history. To

make a part-time, moonlight-type project of the

investigation is, in our opinion, unforgivable., As

the title of Ms. Meagher's book suggests, these

men are accessories after the fact to the murder of

John Kennedy. Their undeniable guilt is presented

here as we examine the testimony of the witnesses

as it was ignored, suppressed and altered in order

to posthumously convict Lee Harvey Oswald of a

crime that he could not and indeed did not commit.

TESTIMONY IGNORED

By wedding itself in an unholy marriage to the

Oswald-Lone Assassin lie, the Warren Commission

quickly found itself beset by a variety of dilemmas.

Much of the problem lay in the testimony of

credible witnesses corroborated by other credible

witnesses, and the testimony of medical experts.

All gave statements that virtually precluded the

possibility of one man killing Kennedy and

wounding Connally. Evading the issue, the

Commission resolved its problems with con-

siderable ease: it simply ignored witnesses who

disputed the Lone Assassin and Single-Bullet

fantasies.

The Single-Bullet Theory Revisited

But for bystander Abraham Zapruder and his

home-movie camera, and the fact that a bolt-action

rifle was designated as the sole weapon used in the

assassination, Federal authorities might have

succeeded in convincing Americans that one

assassin killed President John F. Kennedy.

Abraham Zapruder films the most important home movie ever

made.

The rifle, an ancient, poorly-built Italian

Mannlicher Carcano*, was tested by three FDI

firearms experts "not to test the rifle under con-

ditions which prevailed at the time of the

assassination but to determine the maximum speed

at which it could be fired."5According to the

Warren Report, "Tests of the assassin's rifle

disclosed that at least 2.3 seconds were required

between shots."6In other words, the shortest

* The Mannlicher-Carcano rifle allegedly used by Oswald to

assassinate the President was a piece of junk and nothing more.

The October, 1964 issue of Mechani.x Illustrated described the

Italian rifle as "crudely made, poorly designed, dangerous and

inaccurate." Selling for $12.78 (sans scope), the rifle was ac-

tually one year older than the man who allegedly used it to

commit the crime of the century. Its firing pin was worn and

rusty, the bolt was difficult to operate because it frequently

stuck, as did the trigger. 2And according to J. Edgar Hoover,

"the telescopic sight could not be properly alligned with the

target since the sight reached the limit of its adjustment before

reaching accurate alignment."3Furthermore, the scope was

mounted for a left-handed person and Oswald was right-

handed.4These facts are found within the 26 volumes of

Hearings Before the President's Commission On the

Assassination of President Kennedy but were omitted from the

widely-circulated Report of the President's Commission On the

Assassination of President Kennedy (commonly referred to as

the Warren Report).

L MNV(vt. c t1itit (*CAN°

Ofz-fci-cc \vt

BULLET HOLE

TIE KNOT

ENTRY

NEAR RIGHT

ARM PIT

KENNEDY CONNALLY

EXIT UNDER

RIGHT NIPPLE

RIGHT WRIST

SHATTERED

THE REMARKABLE PATH OF

THE PRISTINE BULLET,

ACCORDING TO WARREN COMMISSION

The Testimony

possible time between shots from the Oswald

rifle*— without aiming—is two and three tenths

seconds.

By the same token, the FBI also tested

Zapruder's Bell & Howell movie camera. Lyndal

Shaneyfelt, the Bureau's photographic expert,

testified, "the Zapruder motion picture camera

operates at an average speed of 18.3 frames per

second . . . the minimum time for firing the rifle in

successive shots is approximately two and a

quarter seconds . . . this gives us this figure of 41

to 42 frames to establish two points in the film

where two successive shots could have been

fired."7In short, for each second elapsed, 18.3 1

frames of film passed through the lens of

Zapruder's camera; the FBI firearms experts,

therefore, required the time equivalent of 42 frames

of Zapruder's camera to fire two shots from the

Oswald rifle—without aiming.

And therein lay a major dilemma for the

Warren Commission, for the Zapruder film

seemingly shows Kennedy and Governor John

Connally reacting to wounds 1.8 seconds apart.**

Thus, the maximum time interval between the hits

on the President and the Governor is less than the

minimum firing time for Oswald's rifle. That is, 1.8

seconds is too short for two shots from the same

weapon, and—because bullets are not known to

pause in mid air—too long for one shot from the

same rifle.

Hence, the Commission faced a choice: either

two assassins had fired almost simultaneously (one

hitting JFK, the other hitting Connally), or else

one bullet had wounded both men.

Because the official explanation called for one

lone nut, the Commission selected the latter and set

out to manufacture a case against Lee Harvey

Oswald. Out of this came one of the most fantastic

fantasies ever conceived by the mind of man. It is

an absurd yarn that strains logic and is con-

tradicted by the ballistics findings, the autopsy

results, the testimony of witnesses, the doctors and

even one of the victims. Known universally as the

"single-bullet theory," it is an insult to the in-

telligence of the American public. This theory holds

* The term "Oswald rifle" will be used in this book to mean the

rifle found on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book

Depository. However, it has never been conclusively

established that the gun actually belonged to the accused

assassin.

** We propose that Connally was wounded later than most

critics generally believe. This theory — outlined in Chapter Six

— still necessitates at least two gunmen firing from behind the

motorcade, since the President and the Governor are struck 1.2

seconds apart.

that an extraordinary bullet from Oswald's cheap

rifle entered Kennedy's neck and exited his throat

(as we shall demonstrate in Chapter 3— it is a fact

that the bullet actually entered the President's

back and did not exit the body). The bullet then

entered Connally's back near the right armpit,

shattered ten centimeters of the fifth rib and exited

below the right nipple to smash through the thick

bone of the right wrist. The bullet ended its

miraculous journey by embedding in the Gover-

nor's left thigh, only to be conveniently found in

Parkland Hospital on a stretcher apparently

unrelated to the care of either Kennedy or Con-

nally. Based on the available evidence, the journey

of this wondrous bullet* would have gone

something like this:

CE399: The Magic Bullet

To account for Connally's slow response the

Commission decided that he suffered a "delayed

reaction" to the impact of a high-powered rifle

bullet smashing his rib and collapsing his right

lung. 1

* Commission Exhibit 399, the star of the single-bullet ex-

travaganza, crowned its achievements by completing its

miraculous journey in pristine condition on a Parkland Hospital

stretcher apparently unrelated to the care of either Kennedy or

Connally. The virtually intact projectile lacked any trace of

flesh, blood or fabric after having traversed two bodies.

Researchers sardonically refer to CE 399 as the "magic",

"super" and "bastard" bullet.

,CMJ &LE

llteaey

The photographs on this page were

taken by Dallas resident Wilma Bond.

They show many of the witnesses to

the ambush and their reaction following

the shots. Police and spectators are

seen rushing to the grassy knoll in

pursuit of the assassin[s].

COVER-UP

[Three more Wilma Bond photographs

are found on page 97.]

The Testimony

uvrtg42,

01351.itfr-0-7

Commission Members Debunk the Single-Bullet

Theory

It is ironic and perturbing that while our

government expects We the People to accept this

ridiculous one-bullet-seven-wound story, that same

theory was rejected by three members of the seven-

man Commission!

Senator Richard Russell reportedly said that

he would not sign a Report which concluded that

both men were hit by the same bullet.8Russell

later told Harold Weisberg that he had asked

Chairman Earl Warren to include a footnote at the

bottom of the page saying, "Senator Russell

dissents," but that Warren refused, insisting on

unanimity. According to author-researcher

Weisberg, Russell was satisfied that there had been

a conspiracy, that no one man could have done the

known shooting, and that "we have not been told

the truth about Oswald" by Federal agencies.

Russell encouraged Weisberg to challenge and

disprove the Commission's finding.9

Senator John Cooper said, "I, too, objected to

such a conclusion; there was no evidence to show

both men were hit by the same bullet."

Representative Hale Boggs said, "I had strong

doubts about it (the single-bullet theory)," adding

that he felt the question was never resolved.10 I

Indeed, Commission counsel Melvin Eisenberg

admitted that the staff lawyers were at first "in-

credulous of this hypothesis" but gradually became

persuaded that this was the only reasonable way to

explain the fact that both men had been hit within a

second or two of each other.11(Translated, that

means the lawyers realized they were operating on

a preconceived set of conclusions and were

reminded that it would be in their own interest not

to challenge the lone assassin scenario given them.)

Governor and Mrs. Connally Dispute the Single-

Bullet Theory

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary,

the Commission concluded that one bullet, CE 399,

struck both the President and the Governor. To do

so the members had to disregard the testimony of

the person who probably knew best about which

shot struck which man—John B. Connally, a

victim of those rifles in Dealey Plaza.

Connally agreed with all but one of the con-

clusions reached by the Warren Commission;

ironically, that one with which he disagrees is all-

important to the Commission's case for one

gunman. Its entire case rests upon the hypothesis

that Kennedy and Connally were struck by the

same bullet, and that that bullet was CE 399.

The Governor testified that he believed he and

CE 399 (center] looks suspiciously like two bullets fired into

long tubes filled with cotton. Nick on the "Magic Bullet" is

where FBI removed a portion for spectrographic analysis.

Similarity of these three bullets strongly suggests that CE 399

was planted to link Oswald's rifle to the assassination.

the President had been struck by separate bullets:

Mr. Specter: In your view, which bullet

caused the injury to your chest, Governor

Connally?

Governor Connally; The second one.

Mr. Specter: And what is your reason for

that conclusion, sir?

Governor Connally: Well, in my

judgement, it just couldn't conceivably have

been the first one because I heard the sound

of the shot. In the first place, I don't know

anything about the velocity of this particular

bullet, but any rifle has a velocity that ex-

ceeds the speed of sound, and when I heard

the sound of that first shot, that bullet had

already reached where I was, or it had

reached that far, and after I heard that shot,

I had the time to turn to my right, and start

to turn to my left before I felt anything.

It is not conceivable to me that I could have been

hit by the first bullet, and then I felt the blow from

something which was obviously a bullet, which I

assumed was a bullet, and I never heard the second

shot, didn't hear it. I didn't hear but two shots. I

think I heard the first shot and the third shot.

Mr. Specter: Do you have any idea as to

why you did not hear the second shot?

Governor Connally: Well, first, again I

assume the bullet was traveling faster than

the sound. I was hit by the bullet prior to the

time the sound reached me, and I was in

either a state of shock or the impact was such

that the sound didn't even register on me,

but I was never conscious of hearing the

second shot at all.

Obviously, at least the major wound that I

took in the shoulder through the chest

couldn't have been anything but the second

COVER-UP

shot. Obviously, it couldn't have been the

third, because when the third shot was fired I

was in a reclining position, and heard it, saw

it and the effects of it, rather—I didn't see it,

I saw the effects of it —so it obviously could

not have been the third, and couldn't have

been the first, in my judgement.12

After the Commission concluded that he was

mistaken, Connally continued to publicly profess

disbelief in the single-bullet theory, while at the

same time agreeing that Oswald had been the only

gunman. Three years after the assassination he

told Life magazine, "They talk about the 'one-

bullet or two-bullet theory' but as far as I'm

concerned, there is no 'theory.' There is my ab-

solute knowledge, and Nellie's (Mrs. Connally) too,

that one bullet caused the President's first wound,

and that an entirely separate shot struck me. It's a

certainty. I'll never change my mind."13

Mrs. Connally was sitting beside her husband

when he was shot, and she supported his remarks.

She told the Commission:

"Then very soon there was the second shot

that hit John. As the first shot was hit, I

turned to look at the same time and I recall

John saying 'Oh no, no no.' Then there was a

second shot and it hit John, and as he

recoiled to the right, just crumpled like a

wounded animal to the right, he said, 'My

God,they are going to kill us ail " '14

If Connally is correct (and he supported by his

wife, witnesses to the shooting and his doctors),

the Warren Report crumbles, for as Commission

staff member Norman Redlich admitted, "To say

that they were hit by separate bullets is

synonymous with saying that there were at least

two assassins."

Expert Testimony: Doctors Refute the Single-

Bullet Theory

That a bullet could inflict seven wounds in two

persons and emerge in pristine condition is totally

incomprehensible to anyone possessing common

sense, yet this is the story the Warren Commission

expected the American public to • believe.

Testimony by medical experts made it perfectly

clear that CE 399 could not have caused wounds to

both men for the simple reason that more

fragments remained in Connally's wrist and thigh

than were missing from CE 399!

Dr. Robert Shaw, Connally's Parkland Hospi-

tal physician, told the Commission: "As far as the

wounds of the chest are concerned, I feel that this

bullet (CE 399) could have inflicted those wounds.

The Commission's "Magic" Bullet" [left] and bullets test-fired

into the wrist of a cadaver [center] and a cadaver skull [right].

Note mutilation of bullet fired into cadaver's wrist, yet pristine

CE 399 is supposed to have gone through Kennedy, smashed

Connally's rib, shattered his wrist and embedded in his left

thigh.

But the examination of the wrist both by X-ray and

at the time of surgery showed some fragments of

metal that make it difficult to believe that the same

missile could have caused these two wounds. There

seems to be more than three grains of metal

missing, as far as the—I mean in the wrist.

"I feel that there would be some difficulty in

explaining all of the wounds as being inflicted by

bullet exhibit 399 without causing more in the way

of loss of substance to the bullet or deformation of

the bullet ."15

Lt. Col. Pierre Finck, an Army physician at

Bethesda Naval Hospital, was asked by Com-

mission counsel Arlen Specter, "And could it (CE

399) have been the bullet which inflicted the wound

on Governor Connally's right wrist?"

Finck replied, "No; for the reason that there

are too many fragments described in that wrist."16

And Navy physician Commander James

Humes testified:

The reason I believe it most unlikely that

this missile could have inflicted either of

these wounds is that the missile is basically

intact; its jacket appears to me to be intact,

and I do not understand how it could

possibly have left fragments in either of these

locations.

(Some Testimony Omitted)

Mr. Specter: Dr. Humes, under your

opinion which you have just given us, what

effect, if any, would that have on whether

this bullet, 399, could have been the one to

lodge in Governor Connally's thigh?

Commander Humes: I think that ex-

tremely unlikely. The reports, again Exhibit

392 from Parkland, tell of an entrance wound

The Testimony 8

on the lower midthigh of the Governor, and

X-rays taken there are described as showing

metallic fragments in the bone, which ap-

parently by this report were not removed and

are still present in Governor Connally's

thigh. I can't conceive of where they came

from this missile.

Representative Ford: The missile iden-

tified as Exhibit 399?

Commander Humes: 399, sir.17

The testimony of these three doctors leaves no

doubt as to the total impossibility of CE 399 having

caused wounds to both Kennedy and Connally. But

in its typical "to heck with the evidence" attitude,

the Commission casually lied as it stated:

. . there is very persuasive evidence from the

experts to indicate that the same bullet which

pierced the President's throat also caused Governor

Connally's wounds."18

The Commission knew full well that Kennedy

and Connally were not wounded by the same bullet,

and that by no stretch of the imagination could

they both have been struck by the pristine CE 399.

It could not be but had to be, in order for the

Commission to deliver a guilty verdict against

scapegoat Lee Oswald.

This is only one of many examples of how the-1

Commission attempted to deceive the public. It

was easy to write in the Report that "the evidence

shows" or "expert testimony indicates" because

few people would bother to verify for themselves

the remarks contained in the Report by examining

the 26 volumes of supposedly supporting evidence.

Again and again, statements in the Report are

directly contradicted by the testimony and exhibits

in the accompanying volumes.*

The testimony of FBI photographic and

firearms experts, of Governor and Mrs. Connally

and of competent physicians, destroys the basic

premise of the Warren Report—that Oswald alone

shot and killed President Kennedy and wounded

the Governor of Texas. The inescapable conclusion

is that at least two gunmen were firing from behind

the motorcade. Two makes a conspiracy. As the

reader will see in subsequent chapters, there were

more than two.

• While millions of copies of the Warren Commission Report

were printed and distributed, only 8,000 sets of the 26 volumes

were printed. Originally selling for $76.00 a set, these books are

now so rare that in 1975 the co-author of this book paid $700.00

for a set. An auction in Canada saw a set sell for more than

$2,000.00. While a book or pamphlet on every insect in this

country can be obtained from the Government, the facts about

the assassination of a President are unavailable.

Fifty-One Witnesses: Shots From the Knoll

It is obvious from the testimony of the

eyewitnesses that a gunman or gunmen fired at the

motorcade from a point to the front of the

presidential limousine. In light of the available

evidence it is probable that at least two of the shots

which struck President Kennedy were fired from

the grassy knoll to the right front of the

presidential limousine. This conclusion is based on

the Abraham Zapruder film and on the testimony,

statements and reaction of the witnesses to the

President's execution.

The Zapruder film problem was taken care of—

it was suppressed—but the large number of wit-

nesses presented a problem to this commission

operating on a set of preconceived conclusions.

This too, though, was resolved with considerable

ease: very few of the spectators who had stated

that shots were fired from a location other than the

Texas School Book Depository were called to

appear before the Warren Commission. This was

particularly true of those persons standing nearest

Kennedy during the shooting. For instance, 12

persons* standing on the north side of Elm Street

at the base of the knoll stated that shots were fired

from directly behind them. Of those 12, only two

were called to testify. One of them was Abraham

Zapruder, and his questioning centered around the

terms of the sale of his film to Life magazine, not

the shooting. Thus, the few who were called to

testify and gave testimony indicating a multi-

assassin ambush were simply ignored.

EJt106 ticE Cavil24,29 c rs CGA/ ci-,15,

As represented in the 26 volumes of hearings and

exhibits before the Warren Commission, by

testimony or affidavit, 126 of at least 266 known

witnesses to the assassination gave statements.

Regarding the source of the shots, 38 gave no

opinion (many were not asked), 32 placed the origin

of shots at the Book Depository and 51 believed

shots were fired from the knoll area.19The dif-

ference of opinion is not surprising and both groups

are correct—as will be shown, shots were fired from

both locations.

Among the witnesses were a number of local

law enforcement officials who, because of their

training and experience, could be expected to

recognize the specific area from which a weapon is

• Abraham Zapruder, William and Gail Newman, A.J.

Millican (who placed shots from the knoll and the Depository),

Jean Newman, Malcolm Summers,Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hester,

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Chism, Emmett Hudson and Mary

Woodward.

16-

/1..w2)cp

woltRE itieoe ovATAlit mace

The Testimony 10

Dave Powers [left) and Kenneth O'Donnell with Kennedy

Mexico City eight weeks before the assassination

and had contacted the Cuban and Soviet Em-

bassies there. They also knew that Chicago

mobsters Sam Giancana and John Roselli had been

approached by the CIA about a contract to

assassinate Fidel Castro in 1961. Had these facts

become known to the general public, Wiedrich said,

there would have been strong suspicions that

Kennedy's murder had been in retaliation for the

plot(s) to kill Castro. Too, the Soviet Union would

have been eyed because Oswald had lived there

from 1959 to 1962.27

Naturally, O'Donnell and Powers firmly

denied the Wiedrich story .28But because of the

way Federal investigators handled other witnesses,

we choose to believe the columnist's report, and we

believe that other Federal employees riding in the

motorcade were advised or ordered to testify in

compliance with the government theory that all

shots came from the Book Depository.

4o2,ed1/(14 04y

The late

Sam "Moms" Giancana

Mobster John Roselli

Julia Ann Mercer: A Rifleman on the Knoll

Several hours prior to the execution of John F.

Kennedy, 23-year-old Julia Ann Mercer was

driving west on Elm St. in downtown Dallas; she

had just passed the seven-story Texas School Book

Depository building and was headed toward what

is known locally as the Triple Underpass.29 The

young lady had no way of knowing she had en-

tered an area predesignated as the "Kill Area" for

the precision ambush that would occur at 12:30

p.m. that day.

Traffic here was congested because a pickup

ti uck was illegally parked in the far right lane; one-

half of the vehicle rested on the sidewalk, the other

half in the street. Miss Mercer was stopped directly

behind the truck, waiting to pass it, when the

passenger dismounted the truck's cab, removed a

rifle case from the back and proceeded afoot up a

grassy embankment toward a wooden fence. He

was a white male in his late twenties or early

thirties and was wearing a plaid shirt.30

The next day Miss Mercer reported this in-

cident to the FBI and made a startling revelation

about the driver of the truck. The significance of

her identification of the driver would not be fully

realized until Sunday, November 24. This

revelation, along with her report of a man with a

rifle near the assassination site, was not good for

the government's lone assassin theory. Her report

had to be ignored but not until it had been altered,

as detailed later in this chapter.

Lee Bowers: Three Unauthorized Vehicles Behind

the Knoll

Lee Bowers, Jr., an employee of the Union

Terminal Railroad Company, was stationed

November 22 on the second level of a 14-foot

control tower that sets fifty yards west of the Texas

School Book Depository and about seventy-five

yards north of the wooden stockade fence atop the

grassy kno11.31

Testifying before Warren Commission counsel

in Dallas Bowers stated that in the half-hour

preceding the assassination, three automobiles

entered the parking lot-railroad yard area, which

was supposed to have been sealed off by police.

Bowers described the first car as a 1959 Oldsmobile

station wagon driven by a white male. This vehicle

bore out-of-state license plates and a "Goldwater

'64" sticker.32

Entering the area about fifteen minutes later

was a 1957 black Ford operated by a white male

who appeared to be holding a microphone to his

mouth. Like the first car, this one cruised slowly

about the area, then exited via the Elm Street

—

The Testimony

Holland's testimony, corroborated by at least

six persons, was not good for the lone assassin

theory. The Commission ignored his remarks about

the puff of smoke and a fourth shot, but tried to use

his statements to disprove speculation that a shot

or shots came from the knoll: "Holland, for

example, immediately after the shots, ran off the

overpass to see if there was anyone behind the

picket fence on the north side of Elm Street, but he

did not see anyone among the parked cars."42 The

Report fails to point out that on November 22 the

parking lot was "a sea of cars" (as Holland

described it to Mark Lane) and climbing over

bumpers and hoods, it took the men at least two

minutes to reach the east corner of the fence.43

J. C. Price: Escape From the Knoll

Post Office employee J. C. Price was never

called to testify, although (or because) he signed an

affidavit stating that immediately after the shots

he saw a man with something in his right hand run

across the railroad yard that lies beyond the

wooden fence.'" Price observed this from the roof

of the Terminal Annex Building on the south side

of Dealey Plaza. Since he never testified, in-

dependent researchers had to obtain the details

from Price. He told Mark Lane that the man "was

running very fast, which gave me the suspicion

that he was doing the shooting," and that the man

ran "over behind that wooden fence, past the cars

and over behind the Texas Depository Building."

For years no one could be found to corroborate

Price's account. In 1975 the co-author of this book

learned of another witness who saw a man running

across the area behind the fence. This witness, now

deceased, watched the motorcade through

binoculars from a window on an upper floor of the

same building from which Price made his ob-

servations. This man, a U.S. Postal Inspector,

never reported what he saw to any law enforcement

or investigative agency, even though he later

participated in the investigation of Lee Oswald's

post office box in Dallas and the receipt of the mail-

order rifle allegedly used by Oswald to kill the

President.

This story was reported by a neighbor of .the

witness; his widow verified that her husband had

witnessed the assassination but refused to

acknowledge that he had seen a man running after

the shots. According to her neighbor, the woman is

reluctant to discuss the subject because she feels

her husband's death in a 1969 one-car accident was

related to what he had seen on November 22 or

J. C. Price: Escape from Richard Carr: Escape from

the grassy knoll. the Book Depository.

what he may have learned during the investigation

conducted by the Postal Inspector's office.46

Two Men on the Sixth Floor of the TSBD

Carolyn Walther told the FBI that minutes

before the assassination she was standing on

Houston Street in front of the Dallas County /)1116$

Records Building and observed two men, one thvc4.°'

holding a rifle, on the fourth or fifth floor of the tAl'9a1

Book Depository.* The man with the rifle, whom

she thought was a guard, was in the southeast

corner window (the so-called "Oswald window")

and was wearing a white shirt and had blonde or

light brown hair. In the same window, to the left of

the gunman, Mrs. Walther saw part of another

man who was wearing a brown suitcoat.47Carolyn

Walther was not called to testify before the

Commission.

Standing on Elm Street, Arnold Rowland also

saw two men on the sixth floor. One man was

wearing a "very light-colored shirt" and holding a

rifle; Rowland thought it was a Secret Service

agent. However, this man was in the southwest

corner window, at the opposite end of the building

from the Oswald window.48It is interesting that

although he had seen a man with a gun on the sixth

floor, Rowland thought shots were fired from the

grassy knoll. Ronald Fischer, too, thought shots

came from the knoll, even though he had seen a

man wearing a white shirt and holding a rifle on the

sixth floor of the Depository.49 The ob-

servations of Walther and Rowland are corro-

borated by photographic evidence, as we shall

discuss in the next chapter.

* Mrs. Walther, like a number of other persons, was probably

confused about the floor. Apparently this is because there are

no windows on the first floor and many people begin counting

with the second floor.

COVER-UP

os-

jA& 4

ammo

It should be noted that after his arrest, Oswald

said he was on the first floor of the building at the

time of the assassination. He was seen on the first

floor at noon by fellow-employee Eddie Piper.56

Secretary Carolyn Arnold believed she saw Oswald

on the first floor in the vestibule at 12:15.51 At

exactly 12:15 Arnold Rowland was watching the

man with the gun five floors above.52

0. V. Campbell, vice-president of the Texas

School Book Depository, told a reporter for the

Dallas Times Herald that after the shots, he

"raced" into his building and saw Oswald in a

storage room on the first floor.53Campbell, as far

as can be determined at this time, never testified or

signed an affidavit.

Victoria Adams testified that she watched the

motorcade from the fourth floor of the Depository,

and within one minute of the shots, descended to

the first floor via the same stairway Oswald would

have used coming from the sixth floor.54If she is

accurate about the time element, and if Oswald

came down the stairway as the Commission said he

did, Miss Adams should have encountered the

L alleged assassin; she did not.

"If You Didn't See Oswald . . . You Didn't

Witness It."—FBI

Mrs. Walther was not the only person to see a

man wearing a brown suit coat on an upper floor of

the Depository. Steelworker Richard Randolph

Carr was working on the seventh story of the new

courthouse building, then under construction at

Commerce and Houston Streets. Carr saw,

standing on the sixth floor of the Depository, a

heavy-set man wearing a hat, tan sportcoat and

horn-rimmed glasses. Very shortly after the

President was shot Carr observed a Rambler

station wagon with a luggage rack parked facing

north alongside the eastern side of the Depository

and on the wrong side of Houston Street. Two men

ran from either inside or from behind the building

and entered the Rambler, which left in such a hurry

that one of its doors was still open; Carr last saw

the station wagon speeding north on Houston.55

After climbing to the ground to see what had

happened, Carr looked up Houston Street and saw

the same man in the tan jacket that he had seen in

the Book Depository. Carr told the author that the

man was "in an extreme hurry and kept looking

over his shoulder." He was last seen walking

rapidly eastward on Commerce Street. Carr was

not called to testify before the Warren Com-

mission.56

But the experience he had with agencies in-

vestigating the President's murder was typical of

that of several other witnesses. Carr told the author

in a taped interview: "The FBI came to my house—

there was two of them—and they said they heard I

witnessed the assassination and I said I did. They

told me, 'If you didn't see Lee Harvey Oswald in

the School Book Depository with a rifle, you didn't

witness it'. I said, 'Well, the man I saw on

television that they tell me is Lee Harvey Oswald

was not in the window of the School Book

Depository. That's not the man.' And he (the FBI

agent) said I better keep my mouth shut. He did

not ask me what I saw, he told me what I saw."57

Not long after the above visit, real harassment

began. Like a number of other witnesses, Carr

found that it could be frustrating—and downright

dangerous—if one tried to contradict the official lie

in favor of the facts. One night Carr was pah. q visit

by twelve Dallas policemen and detectives. With a

search warrant they went through the entire home

("They tore up the house," Carr said), supposedly

searching for "stolen articles." While this was done

Carr and his wife were ordered to sit on a couch

while two of the policemen held shotguns on them.

They took Carr and his son to jail and held the elder

overnight. His son was questioned for several

hours as they attempted to make him admit that

"stolen articles" were in his father's house. The

following day Carr received an anonymous

telephone call advising him to "get out of Texas."

The threatening phone calls continued and finally,

for the safety of his family, Carr moved to Mon-

tana.58

Things for Carr were no better in Montana.

One morning three sticks of dynamite were found

wired to the ignition of his automobile. Fifteen

days before he was to testify at the Clay Shaw trial

in New Orleans, Carr stepped out on his front porch

and was almost shot by a gunman; Can was alerted

by a policeman who lived next door and they were

able to apprehend the would-be killer.59

After testifying at the hearing for Shaw, Carr

was attacked in Atlanta, Georgia by two men, one

of which stabbed Carr in the back and in the left

arm; the knife blade actually broke off in his arm.

Carr shot one of the assailants three times, killing

him. He then fled to relatives in West Virginia

where he turned himself in and was later no-billed

by an Atlanta jury.66

Carr and his family were not bothered for

several years. But in early 1975, as talk of re-

opening the JFK investigation increased, they

began to receive more threatening phone calls. Now

Carr no longer answers the telephone unless he is

certain who is calling.61

Carr's statements regarding the man leaving

COVER-UP

Craig in crowd following Dealey Plaza ambush; he glances

toward embankment in front of Book Depository.

The Testimony

A Rambler station wagon with luggage rack going west on Elm

Street; the time is 12:40 p.m. All is just as Craig told the

Warren Commission.

COVER-UP

The Rambler station wagon proceeds west on Elm toward the

Triple Underpass [seen behind bus].

Craig's attention is focused on something on Elm Street as the

Rambler [behind agent and bus] comes down the street. Man in

work clothing has just begun to cross the street.

COVER-UP

Jack Ruby: "I Want To Tell the Truth, and I Can't

Tell It Here . . ."

The testimony of the most important known

figure in the events surrounding President Ken-

nedy's death was not taken until six months after

the Warren Commission had been created. Even

then, only two of the seven members (Warren and

Gerald Ford) bothered to travel to Dallas to hear

the statements of Jack Ruby. The following

exerpts from Ruby's testimony speak for them-

selves and are a reflection on the Commission's

apathy toward persons offering information that

might challenge the official story of the

assassination.

Mr. Ruby: Gentlemen, my life is in danger

here. Not with my guilty plea of execution.

Do I sound sober enough to you as I say

this ?

Chief Justice Warren: You do. You sound

entirely sober.

Mr. Ruby: From the moment I started my

testimony, have I sounded as though, with

the exception of becoming emotional, have I

sounded as though I made sense, what I was

speaking about?

Chief Justice Warren: You have indeed. I

understood everything you have said. If I

haven't, it is my fault.

Mr. Ruby: Then I follow this up. I may not

live tomorrow to give any further testimony.

The reason why I add this to this, since you

assure me that I have been speaking sense by

then, I might be speaking sense by following

what I have said, and the only thing I want

to get out to the public, and I can't say it

here, is with authenticity, with sincerity of

the truth of everything and why my act was

committed, but it can't be said here.

It can be said, it's got to be said amongst

people of the highest authority that would

give me the benefit of doubt. And following

that, immediately give the lie detector test

after I do make the statement.

Chairman Warren, if you felt that your life

was in danger at the moment, how would you

feel? Wouldn't you be reluctant to go on

speaking, even though you request me to do

so?

Chief Justice Warren: I think I might have

some reluctance if r was in your position,

yes; I think I would. I think I would figure it

out very carefully as to whether it would

endanger me or not.

If you think that anything that I am doing

or anything I am asking you is endangering

you in any way, shape, or form, I want you

to feel absolutely free to say that the in-

terview is over.

Mr. Ruby: What happens then? I didn't

accomplish anything.

Chief Justice Warren: No, nothing has

been accomplished.

Mr. Ruby: Well, then you won't follow up

with anything further?

Chief Justice Warren: There wouldn't be

anything to follow up if you hadn't com-

pleted your statement.

Mr. Ruby: You said you have the power to

do what you want to do, is that correct?

Chief Justice Warren: Exactly.

Mr. Ruby: Without any limitations?

Chief Justice Warren: Within the purview

of the Executive order which established the

Commission. We have the right to take

testimony of anyone we want in this whole

situation, and we have the right, if we so

choose to do it, to verify that statement in

any way that we wish to do it.

Mr. Ruby: But you don't have the right to

take a prisoner back with you when you want

to?

Chief Justice Warren: No, we have the

power to subpoena witnesses to Washington

if we want to do it, but we have taken the

testimony of 200 or 300 people, I would

imagine, here in Dallas without going to

Washington.

Mr. Ruby: Yes, but those people aren't

Jack Ruby.

Chief Justice Warren: No, they weren't.

Mr. Ruby: They weren't.

(Some Testimony Omitted)

Gentlemen, if you want to hear any further

testimony, you will have to get me to

Washington soon, because it has something

to do with you, Chief Warren.

Do I sound sober enough to tell you this?

Chief Justice Warren: Yes; go right ahead.

Mr. Ruby: I want to tell the truth, and I

can't tell it here. I can't tell it here. Does that

make sense to you?

Chief Justice Warren: Well, let's not talk

about sense. But I really can't see why you

can't tell this Commission.

(Some Testimony Omitted)

Mr. Ruby: When are you going back to

Washington?

Chief Justice Warren: I am going back

very shortly after we finish this hearing — I

am going to have some lunch.

COVER-UP

What did Martin wish to say? Was he going to

reveal that Assistant Chief of Police Charles

Batchelor and Lieutenant George Butler had

arranged Jack Ruby's entry into the basement of

the police station to kill Lee Oswald?*

Relevant Witnesses Not Called

In a waste of time and taxpayers' money, the

Commission listened to a number of unnecessary

witnesses who offered meaningless and irrelevant

testimony. Among those who had no reason to

testify were Mrs. Anne Boudreaux, who knew a

woman who had been Oswald's baby-sitter for two

weeks when he was two-and-a-half years old (Mrs.

Boudreaux had never even known Oswald or his

mother); Mrs. Viola Peterman, a neighbor of

Marguerite Oswald in 1941 and who had not seen or

heard from her in 27 years; Professor Revilo

Pendleton Oliver, called to discuss an article he had

written ("Marxmanship in Dallas"), taking up 35

pages of testimony proving that he had absolutely

no pertinent_ information pertaining to the in-

vestigation.

Meanwhile, many important witnesses who

might have shed light on various aspects of the

assassination were totally disregarded. They in-

clude:

James Chaney, the motorcycle officer

closest to JFK during the assassination. He

said he saw "the President struck in the

face" by the final bullet.

Approximately 196 witnesses who were in

Dealey Plaza at the time of the President's

murder; the names of these persons were

known but the Commission showed no in-

terest in what they might have observed on

November 22. Not included in the 196 are a

group of prisoners who watched the

motorcade from an upper floor of the jail on

the east side of the plaza.

Milton Jones, who told the FBI that

shortly after the assassination he was on a

bus that was boarded and searched by Dallas

Police after Oswald had debarked. At that

time, according to the Commission, no one

knew that Oswald had left his place of em-

ployment at the Texas School Book

Depository.

Mary Dowling, a waitress at Dallas'

Dobbs House restaurant who told the FBI

that Oswald and policeman J.D. Tippit were

* Martin, a 33-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department,

got sick on the job on May 25, 1966. Less than a month later he

was dead of apparent cancer at age 56.72

in that restaurant at the same time on

November 20. Tippit, she said, noticed

Oswald after he raised a fuss about the food.

Alonzo Hudkins, A Houston Post reporter

who gave information that Oswald was being

paid $200 a month as FBI informant #S-172.

Ray Rushing, an evangelist who at-

tempted to see Oswald at the Dallas Police

station early Sunday morning, November 24.

Rushing said he rode up an elevator with

Jack Ruby at 9:30 a.m. (when Ruby was

supposedly at home, according to the

Commission; it said he didn't arrive there

until 11:17 a.m.). In view of reports that a

high-ranking official of the police department

escorted Ruby into the basement to shoot

Oswald, Rushing could have been an im-

portant witness.

Lt. George Butler, an extreme right-wing

Dallas policeman who lied about Ruby's

criminal associations and activities, and who

was behaving so strangely in the police

station basement shortly before Oswald was

executed by Ruby. Thayer Waldo, then a

reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram,

told Commission counsel, "What I wanted to

say about Lieutenant Butler was that this

almost solid poise, or perhaps phlegmatic

poise is a better word, that I had noticed all

through even the most hectic times of the

22nd and the 23rd, appeared to have deserted

him completely on the morning of the 24th.

He was an extremely nervous man, so

nervous that when I was standing asking

him a question after I had entered the ramp

and gotten down to the basement area, just

moments before Oswald was brought down,

he was standing profile to me and I noticed

his lips trembling as he listened arid waited

for my answer. It was simply a physical

characteristic. I had by then spent enough

hours talking to this man so that it struck me

as something totally out of character."

Perhaps Butler's anxiety can be traced to

police assistance in getting Ruby into that

basement to murder the accused assassin.

Butler was overseeing the transfer of Oswald

and it was he who gave the signal for the

transfer to begin. Police officials had an-

nounced that the transfer would begin at

10:00 a.m., but Oswald was not brought

down until 11:21, just four minutes after

Ruby moved into position in the basement.

Admiral George Burkley, Kennedy's

personal physician, who was in the fateful

The Testimony

Vn.)106vcE 1 big/ cvap

motorcade; was with the President at

Parkland Hospital; was on the plane back to

Washington; was present during the

autopsy; was recipient of all the official

medical evidence.

John T. Stringer and Lt. William Pitzer,

who photographed and x-rayed the

President's body at Bethesda Naval

Hospital.

James Sibert and Francis O'Neill, two FBI

agents who were present for the autopsy, and

whose report on that proceeding clashes with

the eventual conclusions of the Warren

Report.73

Abraham Bolden, the first Negro member

of the White House detail of the Secret

Service. His request to appear before the

Commission was turned down by his

superiors. Bolden wanted to inform the

Commission of a Chicago plot to kill JFK,

and of the laxity among Secret Service

personnel assigned to protect the President.

Three weeks before Dallas the Secret Service,

in a hush-hush operation, foiled an assassi-

nation attempt planned for Kennedy's

November 1 visit to Chicago; curiously, the

agents involved in that particular case were

instructed not to discuss it with anyone, not

even the Commission.

In May, 1964 Bolden was indicted on a

charge of soliciting a $50,000 bribe in ex-

change for a secret government file on in-

dicted counterfeiter Joseph Spagnoli. Bolden

was sentenced to six years in prison. Sub-

sequently, Spagnoli admitted under oath

that he had committed perjury when he

testified against Bolden, and that he had

done so at the request of prosecutor Richard

Sikes. Still, the Court of Appeals rejected

Bolden's plea for a new trial, and he was

required to serve his full term.74

An honest approach to the investigation would

not have necessitated the almost total disregard of

credible eyewitnesses and witnesses with poten-

tially significant information. The odds against the

scenario eventually set forth by the Commission

were overwhelming. The seven-member panel

heard refutation of the single-bullet theory by

witnesses, medical experts and the Connallys; all

were ignored, and the Commission lied outright to

the public.

The Commission lied again by stating that

there was no evidence of shots from anywhere other

than the Book Depository—when no less than 51

witnesses said shots came from the grassy knoll.

They turned a deaf ear to the strange activity in the

knoll area before, during and after the shots. They

closed their eyes when witnesses told of two men on

the TSBD sixth floor, where only Oswald should

have been, in spite of this testimony being sup-

ported by photographic evidence. Likewise ignored

were reports of men fleeing the knoll area and the

rear exit of the book building, and witnesses who

told of a get-away automobile leaving Dealey Plaza

after the shots. _J

Jack Ruby, the most important live, known

figure in the events surrounding the death of the

President, was snubbed as he pleaded to be taken

to Washington—to tell the truth because he felt his

life endangered in Dallas. Brushing him aside,

Commissioners Warren and Ford hastily left for

lunch, rather than face the possibility of disclosure

of a conspiracy.

Theirs was not a mission of objectivity.

Rather, their goal throughout the investigation

was to conceal the truth. This they did by con-

tinuously ignoring credible witnesses.

TESTIMONY SUPPRESSED

All of the witnesses who gave testimony

contradictory to the official version of the

assassination could not be ignored. Even in this

situation, though, the Commission had an out.

When you can't ignore it—hide it.

"I was trying to hold his hair on . . . "

There was one witness the Commission could

not ignore, one whose testimony they dared not

alter. When this witness made statements that

conflicted with the official story of one man firing

from behind the motorcade, that portion of her

testimony was deleted from the printed testimony

in the Hearings.

The widow of President Kennedy should have

been one of the first witnesses called by the

Commission, and her questioning should have been

thorough and extensive. Instead, Jacqueline

Kennedy did not appear before the Commission

until seven months after the day she was splattered

with her husband's blood and brains. Even though

she was the nearest eyewitness, her testimony

takes up a scant three pages of the 7,909 pages of

testimony in Volumes 1-15 of the Hearings.

Mrs. Kennedy was readily and willingly

relating her traumatic experience of November 22

to Earl Warren and J. Lee-Rankin, and at the point

in her printed testimony where she was apparently

about to describe her husband's fatal head wound,

—

‘

The Testimony 30

NOTES - CHAPTER ONE

1. Meagher-Accessories After the Fact, p. XXX (Bobbs- 53. Dallas Times-Herald, 11-23-63.

Merrill Co., Inc.). 54. VI H 392.

2. Report, p. 193; III H 447, 449. 55. Interview of Richard Carr by Gary Shaw, 4-75.

3. XXVI H 104. 56. Ibid.

4. CE 2560. 57. Ibid.

5. III H 405. 58. Ibid.

6. Report, p. 97. 59. Ibid.

7. Ibid, pp. 153-54. 60. Ibid.

8. Epstein, Edward-Inquest, p. 149 (Viking Compass 61. Ibid.

edition, Viking Press). 62. XVI H 959. II H 196.

9. Weisberg, Harold-Whitewash IV, p. 21. 63. Jones-op. cit. (Vol. II), p. 27.

10. Epstein-op. cit., p. 150. 64. Interview of Roger Craig by Gary Shaw, 5-71.

11. Ibid, p. 117. 65. CD 5.

12. IV H 132-136. 66. Report, pp. 160-61.

13. Life, 11-25-66. 67. Ibid, pp. 19, 61.

14. IV H 147. 68. Excerpts from the testimony of Jack Ruby, Vol. V, pp.

15. IV H 113, 114. 181-213; XIV, 504-570.

16. II H 382. 69. Dallas Morning News, 10-6-66.

17. Ibid, 374.76. 70. Meacher-op. cit., p. 452.

18. Report, p. 19. 71. XII H 284.

19. Feldman, Harold-Fifty-One Witnesses: The Grassy Knoll 72. Jones-op. cit. (Vol. II), p. 16.

(Idlewild Press). 73. This section is based on an article written by Sylvia

20. New York Daily News, 11-24-63. Meagher and published in the December 1966 issue of

21. CE 1974, p. 163. Esquire magazine.

22. New York Times, 11-24-63. 74. Fensterwald, Bernard-"The Case of Secret Service Agent

23. CE 1974, p. 163. Abraham W. Bolden" -Computers & Automation, 6-71.

24. III H 191. 75. Cited in Post Mortem by Harold Weisberg (p. 380).

25. Ibid, pp. 175, 192-193. 76. V H 255-58.

26. Lane, Mark-Rush to Judgement, p. 37 (Holt, Rinehart & 77. Rolling Stone, 4-24-75.

Winston). 78. Ibid, p. 31.

79. Jones-op. cit. (Vol. IV), pp. 147-149.

27. Chicago Tribune, 6-15-75. 80. Garrison, Jim-A Heritage of Stone, pp. 171-174 (G. P.

28. Ibid. Putnam's Sons, N. Y.).

29. XIX H 483. 81. Ibid.

30. Ibid. 82. Ibid.

31. VI H 284. 83. Authors' files (copies of affidavit given the New Orleans

32. Ibid, 286. District Attorney's office by Miss Mercer).

33. Ibid. 84. Ibid.

34. Ibid. 85. Ibid.

35. Ibid, 287. 86. Ibid.

36. Ibid, 288. 87. Thompson, Josiah-Six Seconds in Dallas, p. 112 (Bernard

37. Lane-op, cit., p. 32. Geis Associates).

38. Jones, Penn-Forgive My Grief II, p. 27. (Midlothian 88. Jones-op. cit. (Vol. III), p. 33.

Mirror). 89. Interview of Roger Craig by Gary Shaw, 5-71.

39. Lane-op. cit., p. 40. 90. VI H 270.

40. VI H 243, 244. 91. IV H 245.

41. Ibid. 92. Jones-op. cit. (Vol. III), p. 30.

42. Report, p. 76. 93. Ibid.

43. Lane-op. cit., pp. 34-35. 94. Interview of Roger Craig by Gary Shaw, 5-71.

44. XIX H 492. 95. Conversation with Penn Jones, 4-75.

45. Lane-op. cit., p. 32. 96. Dallas Times-Herald, 5-16-75.

46. Interviews conducted by Larry Harris, 10-75. 97. CD 5, p. 329.

47. XXIV H 522. 98. Interview of Ronald Fischer by Larry Harris, 7-75.

48. II H 169-172. 99. Report to the President by the Commission on CIA Ac-

49. Interview of Ronald Fischer by Larry Harris, 7-75. tivities Within the U. S., p. 264.

50. XVIV H 499. 100. Dallas Morning News, 6-13-75.

51. CD 5. 101. Ibid.

52. II H 169, 172. 102. Ibid.

COVER-UP

Published here for the first time anywhere is this

photograph of the Texas School Book Depository taken by

Army Intelligence officer James W. Powell. Suppressed by

federal authorities for 12 years, the picture was finally released

in early 1976 by FBI Director Clarence Kelley. According to

Special Agent Powell, the photo was taken from the corner of

Elm and Houston streets approximately 30 seconds after the

last shot. An unidentifiable object [a man's shoulder? A rifle

barrel?] can be seen in the sixth floor southeast corner window,

the so-called "Oswald window." If Powell is correct in his

estimation of 30 seconds, the Warren Commission's dubious

account of Oswald's movements immediately following the

shots becomes totally untenable. If Oswald lingered in the

window to satisfy himself that he had succeeded in killing the

President [several witnesses said the gunman remained

momentarily in the window as though surveying the havoc

below],then he could not have reached the second floor lunch-

room in' time to encounter Dallas policeman Marion Baker

and building superintendent Roy Truly [90 seconds after the

shooting, according to the "Report"].

TSBD employee Bonnie Ray Williams is still visible in the

fifth floor window directly below. Note the completely-raised

windows at the left corner of the sixth floor; an assassin

shooting at JFK as the motorcade moved down Elm Street

would logically have positioned himself there—at the west end,

much closer to his target. Agent-photographer Powell was later

trapped inside the Depository after it was sealed off by police.

—

The Photographs

stare at the President until his head was

blown apart. This conflicts with Greer's

testimony, since he told the Commission that

he merely glanced at Governor Connally.

—The presidential limousine came almost to

a halt just prior to the fatal head shot.

In short, the Uroden version of the film

provides absolute, incontestable proof of crossfire

and conspiracy. The evidence hidden in Jim

Garrison's poor quality copy becomes distinctly

evident.

The Umbrella Man: A Visual Coordinator For the

Assassins?

Among the things visible in Groden's clear

copy are suspicious movements by a spectator who

most researchers believe was a conspirator in the

shooting.

The first of two volleys of gunfire went off as

the President's limousine approached the Stem-

mons Freeway road sign on the north side of Elm

Street. Standing by the sign was a man holding an

open umbrella. A Phil Willis photo snapped just as

the first volley was fired shows the man holding the

umbrella low over his head. In the Zapruder film,

as the car emerges from behind the sign, part of the

umbrella can be seen; it rises almost two feet in

the air and then is lowered.

If this motion does not seem suspect, consider

that photographs taken before the ambush reveal

that the umbrella was closed until the President's

car turned onto Elm Street. In photographs taken

The Umbrella Man stands with the open umbrella low over his

head just prior to the first shot. Umbrella was closed until

JFK's car turned onto Elm. Several feet to his right is a dark

complected man who may be Cuban or Latin.

Frames from the Zapruder film [207, top-228, bottom] show the

movement of the umbrella. In motion, it rises approximately

two feet.

After the shots, the man closes the umbrella and sits down; he

is joined by the dark complected man.

COVER-UP35

Umbrella Man and dark complected man

immediately after the shooting, the umbrella is

closed again and the man casually watches as other

spectators run up the embankment and into the

area behind the wooden fence. He is last seen

sitting on the curb, umbrella lying at his feet,

conversing with a Latin or Cuban man.

From the numerous photographs taken by

spectators, it is known that this man had the only

open umbrella along the entire panicle route. It was

a warm, windy day and the light rain had stopped

hours earlier; there was no need for an open um-

brella.

Many students of the assassination believe the

riflemen were firing by radio command and that the

unidentified man with the open umbrella served as

an auxiliary signal device. It is our belief that the

man, standing 15 yards to the right of the

President, could see that definite lethal wounds had

not been inflicted, and that the rising movement of

the umbrella was a signal (to a central radio

communicator) that additional shots would be

required. (This is discussed in detail in Chapter

Six).

Before disappearing east

on Elm Street,

the Umbrella Man

glances toward police

and spectators

running to the knoll.

The Moorman Photograph: The Shape Behind the

Fence

Standing on the south side of Elm Street,

opposite Abraham Zapruder, was Mrs. Mary

Moorman. With a Polaroid camera she took a

picture of President Kennedy a fraction of a second

after he was struck by the last bullet to hit him.

The entire background of her snapshot is the

grassy knoll, including the wooden stockade fence

and the white concrete wall—both probable firing

points for the assassins positioned on the knoll (see

Chapter Six, "The Execution").

In Mrs. Moorman's photograph two objects

can be seen at the top of the fence. As Professor

Josiah Thompson points out in his detailed study

Six Seconds in Dallas, comparison with pictures

taken later show that the object on the right is a

portion of a railroad signal tower beyond the fence,

in the outlying railroad yards.? However, there is

nothing beyond the fence to explain the second

shape in the Moorman photo. The object is no

longer there in pictures taken later that afternoon.

The shape appears at the precise location S.M.

Holland and others observed a puff of smoke after

the final shot and where footprints and cigarette

butts were found on the other side of the fence.8

The majority of private researchers, including the

writers of this book, believe that the last shot to

strike JFK was fired from behind the picket fence.

Mary Moorman about to take her famous Polaroid snapshot.

View from Kennedy's position on Elm St. at Z-313 to wooden fence on grassy knoll [35 yards].

The Photographs

An assassin's view of Elm St.; arrow points to JFK's position at Z-313.

COVER-UP

Mary Moorman's snapshot showing the President being driven left and rearward, toward her, by impact of a bullet striking

JFK in the right temple. This picture corresponds with frames 314-315 of the Zapruder film.

This blow-up from Moorman photo shows a curious shape

behind fence that is no longer there in pictures taken later

[object on right is top of railroad signal signal tower].

Investigating the origin of shots fired at Kennedy, a Dallas

police officer stands in the same spot where the Moorman photo

shows a strange shape.

The Photographs 38

The Hughes Film: Two Men on the TSBD Sixth

Floor

In Chapter One we noted that at least two

persons, Carolyn Walther and Arnold Rowland,

observed two men on an upper floor of the Book

Depository; both witnesses said that one of the

men held a rifle. Their contention is supported by

photographic evidence, an 8-millimeter film taken

by bystander Robert Hughes. Standing near the

intersection of Main and Houston, Hughes filmed

the Presidential limousine as it made the fateful

turn onto the stretch of Elm Street where Kennedy

met his death; in the background is the TSBD

building, including the sixth floor, southeast corner

window—the so-called "Oswald window."

Hughes' film shows an antimate object in that

window—comparison of individual frames by

Josiah Thompson shows that the object gradually

changes in width as the film progresses. No doubt

it is a man with a weapon preparing to play what

we believe to have been a relatively minor role in

the pending ambush. The Commission blatantly

Proof of conspiracy: An enlarged frame from Robert Hughes'

film shows a figure in the window next to the "Oswald win-

dow"; in motion, the film shows movement of this figure and

another in the corner window.

Ifiti vo,uAtaEwi.cyrsorssElursAsiist7

A photograph by a Dallas photographer, taken seconds after

the last shot, reveals that the figure is no longer visible.

lied in the Report by implying that the film was

taken at 12:20 p.m., 10 minutes before the

assassination of President Kennedy."9It dutifully

disposes of the moving object by attributing it to a

shadow from cartons of books near the window.19

The Commission likewise evades the prevalent

issue by declining to mention another animate

object about twelve feet to the left, in the second

set of windows from the corner. The outline of what

appears to be a man can be seen. The figure appears

clearly in some frames and fades in others—

apparently because of the man's movement toward

and then away from the window. (The same figure

appears in a still photograph by Jack Weaver; it

appears on p. 248 of Thompson's Six Seconds in

Dallas.) In a photograph taken moments later by

Tom Dillard of the Dallas Morning News, the

figure is no longer there.

Because the entire sixth floor of the TSBD is

one large room, two men there—where Oswald

alone should be—is by legal definition a conspiracy

(unless, of course, the second man was merely a

disinterested Depository employee unaware that a

perfect stranger twelve feet away was about to

murder the President of the United States). The

Commission, aware of what this film shows, chose

to ignore it and lie about its content. Because of

Robert Hughes' little-known, little-circulated film,

the Warren Report collapses like a house made of

playing cards.

The Nix Film: The Assassination and the Knoll

Amateur photographer Orville Nix filmed the

assassination from south of Elm Street, opposite

Zapruder. His film, purchased by United Press

International,* graphically shows the violent back-

ward snap—toward Nix—of Kennedy's head.

His film also shows the grassy knoll during the

shooting. In view of the prevalent belief of Dealey

Plaza eyewitnesses that shots were fired from the

knoll, the Commission should have ordered

photographic enhancement and analysis of the Nix

film. Among other things, it shows an unidentified

man on the steps leading up to the concrete pergola

turning after the last show and running up those

steps, apparently into the parking area behind the

fence.

The most prominent feature of Nix's poor

quality film is an object appearing in several

frames, which some researchers believe to be a man

standing in the classic military firing position,

* UPI, while allowing copies of Nix's film to be circulated, has

the original locked away, as Life did with the original Zapruder

film.

COVER-UP39

Frames from Orville Nix film taken during assassination

aiming a weapon at the President's car. The shape

appears just to the left of the pergola doorway, near

a low pedestal. Behind the object a white

automobile can be seen. Peculiar about this vehicle

is the fact that it is partially parked on the grass,

straddling a row of log barriers. Other films show

the car leaving the area about one minute after the

shots.11

Sophisticated tests by Itek Corporation have

concluded that the object believed by some to be a

gunman is nothing more than shadows and light on

the pergola12(Itek, it should be noted, handles

many government contracts and has close ties to

the Central Intelligence Agency). Its findings are

supported by a study conducted by the California

Institute of Technology, with this reservation:

". . However, in the light of the poor image

quality and the availability of suitable hiding

placqs, a grassy knoll assassin cannot positively be

ruled out."13What is missed by most who view the

film, though, is that after following the limousine

with his camera, Nix pans back to the right, toward

the knoll, and the object is no longer there.

"Shadows" do not change completely in three or

four seconds.

(Nix was not called to testify during Warren

Commission hearings. He died in 1972).

Other Important Films: Assassination and Af-

termath

Other films which merited Warren Com-

mission scrutiny but were ignored include:

—a film very similar to Nix's, taken by Mrs.

Marie Muchmore. It shows the violent

reaction of JFK's head after the last shot.

—another film by an amateur photographer,

John Martin of Dallas. According to

photographic researcher Richard Sprague,

one of the few to see Martin's original film, it

shows men fleeing the area of the knoll after

the last shot.

—F. M. Bell's home movie film which shows

spectators running en masse toward the knoll

and into the parking area, seconds after the

final shot.

Obviously the Nix, Muchmore and Martin

films were of extreme importance and relevance.

The Commission's failure to view all of them and to

order studies of their content is inexcusable.

The Altgens Photograph: Assassin or Witness?

Of all the still photographs taken in Dealey

Plaza during the assassination, the most famous is

that by Associated Press photographer James

Altgens. His prominent picture shows a frontal

view of Kennedy reacting to wounds in his back

and throat.

The photo gained worldwide notoriety,

however, because in the background, standing on

the steps of the Texas School Book Depository,

was a man who very strongly resembled accused

assassin Lee Oswald. This observation received

widespread coverage in the mass media, and caused

the CoMmission great consternation.

It was decided that the man in the doorway

was an Oswald look-alike named Billy Nolan

Lovelady, an employee of the Book Depository.15

No member of the Commission itself ever saw

Lovelady in person, and no picture of him appears

in the 26 volumes of testimony and exhibits. In-

deed, Lovelady testified to Commission lawyers in

Dallas that he was standing on the steps at thei

time of the assassination, and was in fact the man

seen in Altgens' photograph.16(Depository

foreman William Shelley said Lovelady was seated

on the entrance steps of the building17). Of all the

book company employees who were asked to ac-

count for those around them during the shooting,

only Lovelady mentions himself as being on the

steps, and only Shelley states that Lovelady was

on the steps).

Seemingly, the mystery of the man in the

doorway should have ceased to be a mystery after

The Photographs

James Altgens' photograph shows three of JFK's Secret doorway is a man bearing a strong resemblance to Oswald and

Service looking back toward the TSBD. Standing in the wearing similar clothing.

Oswald in custody. Note similarity of shirt and

T-shirt worn by the accused assassin, and those

Billy Nolan Lovelady and his

worn by man in doorway. The man in the doorway. red and white striped shirt.

COVER-UP

Photographs taken from different angle show the man in the doorway.

Lovelady's statement that he, not Oswald, was the

figure in question. Not so, for a March 9, 1964

report from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover adds to

the mystery with this paragraph:

"On February 29, 1964, Billy Nolan Lovelady

was photographed by Special Agents of the

FBI at Dallas, Texas. On this occasion, 1

Lovelady advised that on the day of the

assassination of President John F. Kennedy, ,„„

November 22, 1963, at the time of the ri-

assassination, and shortly before, he was

standing in the doorway of the front entrance

to the TSBD where he is employed. He

stated he was wearing a red and white

vertical striped shirt and blue jeans."*18

Lovelady likewise told independent researcher

Jones Harris (who specializes in photographic

aspects of the President's murder) that on

November 22 he was wearing a red and white

striped sport shirt buttoned near the neck.19When

the FBI told Lovelady it wanted to photograph him

in the shirt he was wearing, he showed up in a red

and white striped sport shirt.28

It is very obvious that the man in the Altgens

photograph is not wearing a shirt matching that

worn by Lovelady in the FBI pictures. The man in

the doorway is wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt,

partly open in the front with a T-shirt underneath.

What was Oswald wearing at the time of his arrest?

Photographs show him in a dark, long-sleeved

shirt, partly open in the front with a T-shirt un-

derneath.

Furthermore, the 'man in the doorway can be

seen in the color film taken by Robert Hughes (the

same film that shows two men on the sixth floor

moments before the assassination). The man's

shirt, which in black and white photos appears to

be grey, is brownish orange in color. This is the

same color as the shirt Oswald was wearing in a

color photograph of him being led from the Texas

Theatre where he was apprehended.

Just where was Oswald when

those rifles in Dealey Plaza took the life of

John F. Kennedy? The accused assassin told the

police that he was eating lunch on the first floor of

the building.21Contrary to what he later told

David Belin, Charles Givens last saw Oswald on

the first floor thirty minutes before the

assassination.22Eddie Piper last saw Oswald at

noon on the first floor.23An FBI report of an

interview with TSBD secretary Mrs. R. E. Arnold

states that "she thought she caught a fleeting

glimpse of Lee Harvey Oswald standing in the

hallway between the front door and the double

doors leading to the warehouse, located on the first

floor. She could not be sure that this was Oswald,

but said she felt it was and believed the time to be a

few minutes before 12:15 p.m."*24TSBD vice-

President 0. V. Campbell told the Dallas Times-

Herald that immediately after the shots he "racedl

into the building and noticed Oswald in a storage

room on the first floor.25About 90 seconds after

the last shot, building superintendent Roy Truly

and policeman M. L. Baker encountered Oswald in

the second floor lunchroom:28he was calmly

drinking a Coke.27Baker said that Oswald did not

seem to be out of breath; he seemed calm.28Of

Oswald, Truly said, "He didn't seem to be excited

or overly afraid or anything. He might have been a

bit startled, like I might have been if somebody

* Emphasis added. * Emphasis added.

COVER-UP43

ched. JFK's fatal head shot occurs at frame 313. As

published in the volumes, the President's head

appears to move forward and to the right. This was

done by transposing frames 314 and 315, and

mislabeling them. The purpose, of course, is to

negate the violent backward movement of Ken-

nedy's head.

Of some 158 Zapruder frames reproduced in

that volume, this is the only place such a trans-

position occurs; all others are in correct sequence.

It represents another example of the lengths taken

by authorities to deceive the American public. In a

letter to a Warren Commission critic, J. Edgar

Hoover admitted, "You are correct in the ob-

servation that frames labeled 314 and 315 of

Commission Exhibit 885 (Zapruder film) are

transposed in Volume 18 as noted in your letter."

The FBI Director, however, attributed the

discrepency to "a printing error. "30

This lame excuse came from a key figure in the

cover-up of facts surrounding the assassination

r (see Chapter Seven). He knowingly gave false

information in his testimony to the Commission.

kit14-1 For example, Hoover told the panel, "Now, some

people have raised the question: Why didn't he

(Oswald) shoot the President as the car came

toward the storehouse where he was working? The

reason for that is, I think, the fact there are some

trees between his window on the sixth floor and the

cars as they turned and went through the park."31

That statement is a demonstrable lie, as the

photograph below plainly shows.

The Walker Photograph and a Mystery Vehicle

In April, 1963, an unknown assailant fired a

bullet at Major General (U.S. Army, Resigned)

Edwin A. Walker as he sat near a window in his

Dallas home.32Walker is a prominent and con-

troversial figure known for his outspoken right-

wing views. The sniper barely missed Walker's

head and the shooting remained an unsolved

mystery until December, 1963, when authorities

announced that none other than Lee Harvey

Oswald had been responsible for the potshot. The

incident, they said, demonstrated a tendency for

violence on the part of the accused Presidential

assassin.33The contention that Oswald fired the

shot was based on the testimony of Marina

According to J. Edgar Hoover, the assassin did not shoot the President as the motocade approached the TSBD on Houston

Street because, "there are some trees between his window on the sixth floor and the cars as they turned and went through the

park." The reader will look in vain for as much as one twig of Hoover's "trees."

COVER-UP

on it now. When Lee showed me this

photograph there was the number on the

license plate on this picture. I would have

remembered it if there were a black spot on

the back of the car where the license plate

would be.

(Some testimony omitted)

Mrs. Oswald. There was a license plate on

this car.

Mr. Liebeler. Do you remember that very

clearly?

Mrs. Oswald. When Lee showed it to me, I

remember very distinctly that there was a

license plate on this car. When this business

about General Walker came up I would have

remembered this black spot.

Mr. Liebeler. Or the hole?

Mrs. Oswald. Or the hole in the original—I

would have remembered it.

Mr. Liebeler. And you remember, then,

that the license plate was actually on that car

when you saw the picture?

Mrs. Oswald. This black spot is so striking

I would have remembered it if it were on the

photograph that Lee showed me or the FBI.

Mr. Liebeler. Let's address ourselves also,

not just to the black spot but to the

possibility that they may have shown you

the actual original photograph on which

there is no black spot, but which has a hole

right through the photograph.

Mrs. Oswald. There was no hole in the

original when they showed it to me—I'm

positive of it.

Mr. McKenzie. All right, let me ask her a

question.

Mrs. Oswald. This is the first time I saw a

black spot or have heard about a hole in the

original photograph.

(Some testimony omitted)

Mr. McKenzie. At the that time did the car

that appears in the picture, did it have a hole

in the picture?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. McKenzie. When the FBI or the

Secret Service showed you this picture, had

it been folded?

Mrs. Oswald. No.

Mr. McKenzie. Who showed you the

picture—the FBI or the Secret Service or the

Commission?

Mrs. Oswald. The FBI first and then the

Commission.

Mr. McKenzie. Now, at the time the

Commission showed you the picture in

Washington, was there a hole shown in the

picture where the car's license plate would

be?

Mrs. Oswald. No; I don't know what

happened to this picture, because when the

Commission showed me the picture there was

not this spot here.

Mrs. Oswald. If there was a hole, I would

have asked them right away why that hole is

there or the black spot.

Mr. McKenzie. Off the record, please.35

On the other hand, Dallas Police Detectives

Richard B. Stovall and Guy F. Rose related a

different tale. They were two of the four officers

who searched Ruth Paine's residence, where some

of Oswald's belongings were stored.

According to an FBI report, Stovall "stated at

the time he observed this photograph, he surmised

that Oswald had evidently taken the license plate

number area out of the photograph to keep anyone

from identifying the owner of that automobile. He

advised he is positive the photograph was

mutilated as shown in Commission Exhibit 5 at the

time they recovered it at the Paine residence. "*36

Detective Rose concurred with his partner,

telling the Bureau that he "recalls observing this

photograph at the time they had seized Oswald's

material from the Paine residence. He advised at

the time, he had noted that someone had torn out a

section on the automobile, which area contains the

license plate for the 1957 Chevrolet. He stated he

definitely recalls that this photograph, marked as

Commission Exhibit 5, was one of the photos

recovered from the Paine residence and that it had

been mutilated at the time they had recovered the

box containing the photographs. "*37

Someone is lying. Who told the truth, Marina

or Detectives Stovall and Rose? Marina lied

repeatedly to the Commission, but it appears that

in this instance she was being truthful. The ap-

parent falsehood by two members of the Dallas

Police is revealed in an official police photograph

reproduced on page 113 of Retired Police Chief

Jesse Curry's JFK Assassination File. The caption

underneath the photograph is, "Oswald's

possessions included personal records and

photographs which were carefully examined by

investigators."38Just how careful they were

examined is questionable, for in the lower left of the

picture is the photograph showing Walker's house

— and the portion containing the automobile's

license plate is still intact!

* Emphasis added.

—

AS JACK RUBY

GOES TO TRIAL

Cast of Chatactem

HO, tits taw Appfkos

The Photographs

Retouched and altered photo of Oswald on cover of February

21, 1964 Life magazine.

Indeed, on the surface these photos were quite

incriminating, showing the smirking little Marxist

with the cop-killing pistol on his hip, the President-

shooting rifle in one hand and .communist literature

in the other. The Commission relied heavily on

these two snapshots and was not about to question

their authenticity. It should have, because the

photos are demonstrably fake. Oswald, it seems,

was an unwilling patient in the world's first head

transplant.

Independent researchers, most notably Fred

Newcomb of Los Angeles, have proven con-

clusively that a photo of Oswald's head was

superimposed on two photos of the body of another

person posing with the weapons. First, the body in

one photo is smaller than in the other because the

picture was taken from farther away; yet the size of

the two heads are virtually identical! Secondly, the

real Oswald had a narrow, pointed chin with a cleft,

whereas the chin in the two photographs is

decidedly broad and squarish, and has no cleft. It is

apparent that the Oswald head photos were joined

to the other body just above the chin. Third, the V-

shaped shadow under the nose is identical in both

snapshots, even though Oswald's head is tilted in

FBI "recreation" of Oswald photograph.

one and erect in the other. Too, the nose shadow

falls at a vertical angle, while the body shadow falls

behind Oswald and to his right.

The FBI tried to duplicate one of the pictures

by photographing an agent standing on the roof of

the Justice Department, posing with the rifle in the

same stance and with sunlight in the same

direction. The body shadow is quite similar to that

in the fake photos, therefore, we should be able to

determine something about the nose shadow. But

the agent's entire head has been completely

removed from the picture! It doesn't take a

Sherlock Holmes-type to figure out this one.

The Commission at least asked FBI photo

expert Lyndal Shaneyfelt about this headless

phenomenon and he replied, "I blanked out the

head because it was one of the employees of the

FBI, and I felt it was desirable to blank out the

head since it was not pertinent."44Who did

Shaneyfelt hope to fool with that ridiculous non-

explanation?

The Dallas Police crime lab did manage to

recreate one of the fake photos by posing a man,

with head, on the actual spot the pictures had been

taken. Unfortunately this was done (one must

COVER-UP

Oswald in custody on November 22. His chin is narrow and

pointed with a cleft.

The incriminating—but fake—photos of Oswald. Compare

shadow on ground [behind and to the right] to shadow under

nose [vertical].

Blow-up from fake photo shows that this man's chin is broad,

squarish and has no cleft. Look closely and you can see a line

running from the right side of the neck, across the chin to the

left side of the neck- showing where Oswald's head was grafted

onto photograph of another body.

COVER-UP

. . I was told that this negative had somehow

become lost"

Canadian journalist Norman Similas was in

Dallas attending a national convention of car-

bonated beverage bottlers; it was a trip he wouldn't

soon forget. On the afternoon of November 21, he

spoke with and photographed Vice-President

Lyndon B. Johnson, who had addressed the

convention. That night he visited the Carousel

Club and spent more than an hour chatting with its

hospitable owner, Jack Ruby. The following day

Similas wandered down to Dealey Plaza to see and

photograph the President of the United States.52

Similas said he was standing on the south side

of Elm St. and was less than ten feet from JFK's

car at the time of the first shot. Writing in the now-

defunct Canadian magazine Liberty, he recalled his

actions during the assassination: "My camera had

methodically returned to my cheek and I flipped

the shutter. In retrospect, my actions were com-

pletely instinctive. Something inside me kept

saying, 'Keep shooting those pictures. Whoever is

shooting that gun is a sharpshooter. When he sees

the flashes, he will know you are a photographer

and he won't shoot you.'

"The Presidential limousine had passed me

and slowed down slightly. My camera was directly

angled toward the Texas School Book Depository

in the background. The picture that I took on the

curb of Elm Street was trained momentarily on an

open, sixth-story window. The camera lens

recorded what I could not possibly have seen at

that moment—a rifle barrel extended over the

windowsill. When the film was developed later, it

showed two figures hovering over it."53(This, of

course, is consistent with the Hughes film and the

testimony of Carolyn Walther and Arnold

Rowland.)

In a signed statement for the Royal Canadian

Mounted Police, Similas further described the

picture:

"I arrived in Toronto at about 10 p.m., on

November 23. Almost immediately on my

arrival at home, I was contacted by a

reporter from the Toronto Telegram who

advised they received word from the

Associated Press in Chicago that I had

negatives that they might be interested in.

He arrived at my home in five or ten minutes.

I went over the " story giving him an

eyewitness account of what I had seen and

heard during and following the

assassination. He then examined the

negatives, and while examing them he ex-

claimed, 'There looks like two people at this

window.' I then went over and looked at the

negative and I agreed that there were two

objects in the window on the 6th floor

southeast corner of the building. This

window differed from the others in that it had

an alcove above the window as opposed to

the others on the 5th and other floors, which

had a square frame. The two objects ap-

peared to be people and the Telegram

reporter thought he saw what appeared to be

a rifle barrel between them. I did not make

any comment on this upon looking at it as it

blended into the shadow of the object on the

left. "54

But as fate would have it, the picture, like

several others taken that day, was never to see the

light of day.

"Upon my return to Toronto I submitted my

developed negatives to a daily newspaper

(The Toronto Telegram). When they were not

used on Monday, November 25, I phoned

and asked that they be returned. Later I

received a fat cheque in the mail, but the one

negative which clearly showed what I believe

to be two figures in the window of the

assassin's nest was missing. When I pressed

for it I was told that this negative had

somehow become lost. It has never been

returned to me."55

1The Babushka Lady: Her Film . . .

A piece of film probably of greater value than

Abraham Zapruder's was taken by a woman known

as "the Babushka Lady," so-called because in

photographs and films of the assassination she can

be seen wearing a babushka (a triangular head

scarf). For years researchers wondered who this

woman was; in 1970 the author learned her identity

and interviewed her several times.

Standing on the south side of Elm Street

(opposite Zapruder) and using a Super 8 Yashica

movie camera with zoom lens, this woman filmed

the entire assassination. Using a better camera,

and much closer to the President, her view was not

obstructed at a crucial moment by a road sign and

her film would certainly have revealed the presence

of gunmen on the knoll. Too, the unidentified

Umbrella Man could be clearly seen, as could the

face of the Depository building.

Unfortunately, the Babushka Lady nor

anyone outside the government has ever seen her

film; like Mary Moorman's photograph, it

disappeared at the hands of federal authorities. It

was confiscated from her by two men who identified

themselves as agents of the F.B.I. (she has since

gcuoi- *NlOW L- (

The Photographs

The Zapruder film [top left] shows the Babushka Lady filming

the assassination. She is likewise seen in Marie Muchmore's

film [top right]. Below, the Babushka Lady with her camera is

seen after the shooting in a crowd on the north side of Elm

Street.

COVER-UP

The Babushka Lady on the north side of Elm Street.

A blow-up of the Babuska Lady. The Babushka Lady in 1962. FBI agent Regis Kennedy

The Photographs

identified one of them as Regis Kennedy of the

FBI) The agents approached her at her place of

employment, the Colony Club, and asked for the

film. She was told that they would process the film,

view it and return it to her within ten days.56The

film was not returned to her and she received no

explanation. The government could not jeapordize

its case against Oswald by letting Life or UPI

obtain this valuable film. For obvious reasons it

was confiscated by federal agents on November 23,

before it could be processed and before its content

could be revealed to the American public.

. . . and Her Story

This woman, then age 19, later married an

important crime syndicate figure in the north

Texas area, a man who could and did kill with

impunity and was himself killed in a gangland-type

slaying in west Texas in 1970.57

The Babushka Lady told the author that in

1968, during the presidential campaign, she and

her husband held a two-hour conversation with

Richard M. Nixon in a Miami hote1.58At the time

she related this story it seemed very strange that

Candidate Nixon would spend two hours with

someone other than a wealthy businessman who

might give generously to the Nixon campaign

coffer. It seemed even more odd that the former

Vice President would meet with a known gangster.

But in retrospect, after all that has been revealed

about Nixon the Man during Watergate, that he

would meet with a killer mobster 'seems in

character. Nixon's ties to organized crime, directly

and indirectly, are too extensive to cover here. The

reader is referred to investigative reporter Jeff

Gerth's articles published in Penthouse (July 1974)

and Sundance (November 1972) magazines.

At this point we wish to digress from the

Babushka Lady and her film, and elaborate on

certain of Mr. Nixon's activities prior to the

assassination of President Kennedy.

Richard Nixon and Jack Ruby: Birds of a Feather

In 1975 Trowbridge Ford, a professor of

political science at Holy Cross University,

discovered an FBI document which discloses that

in 1947 Nixon intervened on behalf of a Chicago

gangster who was about to be called as a witness

before a congressional committee.

The memo, written by an FBI staff assistant,

states, "It is my sworn statement that one Jack

Rubenstein of Chicago, noted as a potential witness

for hearings of the House Committee on Un-

American Activities, is performing information

functions for the staff of Congressman Richard

Richard Nixon

Jack Ruby

Nixon, Republican of California. It is requested

Rubenstein not be called for open testimony in the

aforementioned hearings."59

That same year, Rubenstein moved to Dallas,

Texas, and changed his name to Jack Ruby . . .6°

Nixon and the Assassination of President Remon.

Nixon is no stranger to assassination plots. As

Vice-President he served as "Action Officer"

(chairman) of a group known as Special Group

5412, working out of the White House to coordinate

actions of the CIA and the Defense Intelligence

Agency (DIA).61Under the protection of the

National Security Council, this group plotted

several assassination attempts on Fidel Castro and

outlined what eventually became the Bay of Pigs

invasion. Members of Special Group 5412 included

Alexander Haig, the general who served as Nixon's

White House Chief of Staff during the latter days

of the Nixon presidency, and two CIA operatives:

E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis—both con-

victed in the break-in of Democratic Headquarters

in the Watergate office complex.62

Marion Cooper, a former CIA operative, has

disclosed that on January 1, 1955, he attended a

meeting in Honduras at which the planned

assassination of President Jose Antonio Remon of

Panama was discussed in detail. Among those

present at the meeting were the team of men hired

to kill the Panamanian leader, and the Vice

President of the United States, Richard Nixon.63

The following day Remon was machine-gunned to

death at a racetrack outside Panama City.*

Cooper's statements have been validated by a

polygraph examiner of the highest rating.

Newsman Joe Pennington of Chicago says he has

been able to verify most of the details of the

* Commission Document 279—"Assassination of Jose Remon,

Panama"—remains classified in the National Archives.

James McCord

COVER-UP

story.64Cooper's information was turned over to

the Church Committe investigating the CIA, but

there was apparently no interest on the part of

Senator Frank Church, chairman of the com-

mittee. *

Nixon and the Bay of Pigs.

By now it is common knowledge that Vice-

President Nixon, an old and avid anti-communism

crusader, was one of the foremost supporters of an

invasion of Cuba to overthrow Castro. He so ad-

mitted in his book, Six Crises: "The covert training

of Cuban exiles by the CIA was due in substantial

part, at least, to my efforts, This had been adopted

as a policy as a result of my direct support."65

Along with CIA Director Allen Dulles (a member of

the Warren Commission) and Richard Bissell, Jr.,

Nixon was instrumental in the planning and

supervision of the operation.

Also by his own admission, Nixon lied to the

American public in order to protect the plans for

the invasion.

Prior to the famous Kennedy-Nixon Debates

of 1960, it was necessary that candidate Kennedy

be briefed, in the interest of national security, by

Dulles on covert CIA activities and international

problems; he was not informed of the planned

invasion. Nixon was misinformed, being told that

Kennedy did know of the project. So when JFK

made a major speech on Cuba, suggesting that

there might be an opportunity for the U.S. to bring

influence on behalf of the cause of freedom in Cuba

and encouraging the anti-Castro Cubans who were

leading the resistance to the bearded dictator,

Nixon was furious.%

"There was only one thing I could do," he

wrote in Six Crises. "The covert operation had to

be protected at all costs. I must not even suggest

by implicaiton that the U.S. was rendering aid to

rebel forces in and out of Cuba. In fact, I must go

to the other extreme: I must attack the Kennedy

proposal to provide such aid as wrong and

irresponsible because it would violate our treaty

commitments. "67

So during the televised debates in October,

1960, Nixon charged that Kennedy's proposal was

dangerously irresponsible and that it would violate

five treaties between the United States and Latin

America as well as the United Nations charter.

* As chairman of that committee, Senator Church, along with

Texas senator John Tower, helped orchestrate a rather obvious

cover-up and whitewash regarding the CIA and assassinations.

This is not surprising, since a biographical sketch of Church

appears in a 1967 book, Who's Who in the CIA.

The day following the fourth debate, during a

speech at Muhlenberg College, he said, "Kennedy

called for—and get this—the U.S. Government to

support a revolution in Cuba, and I say that this is

the most shockingly reckless proposal ever made in

our history by a presidential candidate during a

campaign."68Richard Nixon was actually

criticizing and attacking his opponent for publicly

advocating a plan that he, Nixon, secretly ad-

vocated and, in fact, indicated was his own idea.

It is interesting that a number of participants

in the training, planning and discharge of the Bay

of Pigs invasion later turned up as key figures in

the Watergate break-in. These include E. Howard

Hunt, Bernard Barker, Frank Sturgis, James

McCord, Virgilio Gonzales and Eugenio Martinez.

Bernard Barker

Virgilio Gonzales

Nixon in Dallas: November 20-22, 1963.

It has been pointed out as coincidence that

Richard Nixon was in Dallas the same day as the

man who had so narrowly defeated him for the

Presidency in 1960.

The former-Vice-President advised the Warren

Commission that the only time he was in Dallas in

1963 was on November 20-21.69Actually, that is a

discrepancy on Nixon's part.because he did not

leave Dallas Love Field until 10:05 a.m., November

22, shortly before the Presidential Party was to

arrive in Air Force One.70

The Photographs 56

A more damaging discrepancy, however,

arises out of his excuse for being in Dallas—

ostensibly to attend a board meeting of the Pepsi

Cola Bottling Company, which Nixon's law firm

represented.71Researcher Richard Sprague has

examined that company's corporate records and

has found that no such board meeting was held in

Dallas in November, 1963. . . .72

Nixon's reason for being in Dallas suddenly

becomes very suspect. It becomes even more so in

light of his attendance at a gathering on the

evening of November 21; this is discussed in

Chapter 7.

Oswald and Ruby.

Returning to the Babushka Lady for a

moment, she told the author that she was an

acquaintence of Jack Ruby and frequented his

nightclub, which was next door to the Colony Club

where she worked. It was at Ruby's club that she

was introduced by Ruby to "Lee Oswald of the

CIA." She said Oswald frequently visited the

Carousel, as did David Ferrie, who was there so

often that she took him to be assistant manager of

the club. Ferrie was a key figure in the in-

vestigation conducted by Jim Garrison (see chapter

More than one person corroborated the

Babushka Lady's report that Oswald had been in

Ruby's establishment.

Two weeks after the assassination, Dallas

attorney Carroll Jarnagin felt it his duty as a

citizen to provide the FBI with important in-

formation. In a letter to J. Edgar Hoover, Jarnagin

wrote: "On Oct. 4, 1963, I was in the Carousel Club

in Dallas, Texas, and while there I heard Jack

Ruby talking to a man using the name of H.L.

Lee.* These men were talking about plans to kill

the Governor of Texas. This information was

passed on to the Texas Department of Public

Safety on Oct. 5, 1963 by telephone. On Sunday,

Nov. 24, 1963 I definitely realized that the picture

in the Nov. 23, 1963 Dallas Times Herald of Lee

Harvey Oswald was a picture of the man using the

name of H.L. Lee, whose conversation with Jack

Ruby I had overheard back on Oct. 4, 1963.'14

Jarnagin went on to describe in detail how

Ruby reassured Oswald that he (Oswald) could

shoot Connally from a window of the Carousel and

easily escape out the back door. Oswald wanted

half his payment for the chore in advance but Ruby

* As is customary for a man involved in the capacity of an

informant for an intelligence or law enforcement agency,

Oswald often used an alias. At his rooming house in Irving he

used the name 0. H. Lee. 73

told him he would receive it in one lump sum "after

the job is done." Later in the conversation Ruby

explained, "He (Connally) won't work with us on

paroles. With a few of the right boys out we could

really open up this state, with a little cooperation

from the governor."75

Jarnagin is a well-respected lawyer in the

Dallas area; he is no crackpot. He had valuable

information linking these two "lone nuts", yet he

was not called to testify before the Commission.

One who did testify was William D. Crowe,

Jr., who was questioned about a statement he

made to newsmen concerning Oswald and Ruby.

Using the stage name "Billy DeMar", Crowe was a

stand-up comic and master of ceremonies at the

Carousel Club.76On November 25, the day after

Ruby carried out his order to execute patsy

Oswald, Crowe remarked to reporters that he may

have seen Oswald in the club shortly before the

assassination.

He testified,". . . the face seemed familiar as

some faces do, and I had associated him (Oswald)

with a patron that I had seen in the club a week

before. They (newsmen) asked me in what—how I

had seen him in the club, and I said I thought I had

used him as one of the people that was—that I

would use him in my memory bit." (Crowe used a

routine involving mind association). He added,

"Bill Willis, the drummer in the band at the club,

said he seemed to remember Lee Harvey Oswald

sitting on the front row on Thursday night right in

the corner of the stage and the runway."77

Kathy Kay with Ruby and Alice Alexander.

One of Ruby's strippers, Kathy Kay, told her

co-workers at the Carousel that she had seen—and

had, in fact, danced with—Oswald at the club a few

days prior to the assassination.78

57 COVER-UP

On November 20, two days before Kennedy's

death, one of Ruby's employees, Rose Cherami,

was in an automobile with two men enroute to

Florida to get a load of narcotics for Ruby. A

disagreement among the three apparently

developed, and the woman was thrown from the

moving vehicle near Eunice, Louisiana. She was

hospitalized for injuries and dope withdrawal

agonies.

At the hospital she screamed that President

Kennedy and other officials were going to be killed

when they reached Dallas, Texas. She was ignored

until November 22. Several days later, after the

nightclub owner fatally shot the accused assassin,

Miss Cherami was shown a newspaper article in

which Ruby denied knowing Oswald. She laughed

and said, "They were bed-mates!"79

(On September 4, 1965, while walking down a

highway near Big Sandy, Texas at 2:00 a.m., Miss

Cherami was struck and killed by a hit and run

L driver).8°

Conclusion

The photographic evidence, like the testimony

of witnesses, had to be ignored, altered and sup-

pressed. To do otherwise would have completely

destroyed the one-gun, no-conspiracy theory

placed before the American public by the govern-

ment.

The most damaging piece of evidence against

the lone assassin hypothesis, the Zapruder film,

was disregarded—for it clearly disproved

everything about the single-bullet theory and the

one assassin scenario. Photographs showing the

grassy knoll during the assassination and im-

mediately afterward were brushed aside. Because it

showed two men on the sixth floor of the Book

Depository, the Robert Hughes film provided

absolute proof of conspiracy, and demolished the

Report; the Commission looked the other way and

lied about the content of this remarkable film.

To deceive those who bothered to look, key

frames of the Zapruder film, published in the 26

volumes, were transposed to conceal evidence of a

shot from ahead of the motorcade. Authorities

mutilated the license of a mystery vehicle in the

Walker photograph. The FBI and the Commission

studied two photographs of "Oswald" holding the

alleged murder weapon(s); the pair of snapshots

were demonstrably faked in order to frame the

accused assassin. The FBI confiscated and sup-

pressed an invaluable piece of film taken by a

Dallas woman—a film which showed the entire

assassination, the TSBD building and the grassy

knoll.

Federal and local officials committed crimes in

order to heap blame for JFK's murder on an in-

nocent man. The crimes and deception did not end

with the photographs. With the material evidence

in the case, the dishonesty of the authorities

became even more obvious. . . .

COVER-UP

The Dallas Police "Oswald evidence"

Oswald 'a weapon

COVER-UP

could be felt with the finger. * 4

. . and inspection revealing there was no

point of exit." 5

The O'Neill-Sibert report is corroborated by

the testimony of Secret Service personnel present

at the autopsy. Roy Kellerman, who was also a

passenger in the Kennedy death car, testified:

"A Col. Finck, during the examination of the

President, from the hole that was in his

shoulder, and with a probe, and we were

standing right alongside of him, he is

probing inside the shoulder with his in-

strument and I said, 'Col., where did it (the

bullet) go?' He said, 'There are no lanes for

an outlet of this entry in this man's

shoulder."'* 6

Agent William Greer was asked by Com-

mission counsel Arlen Specter, "Was anything said

about any channel being present in the body for the

bullet to have gone through the back?" Replied

Greer, "No, sir. I hadn't heard anything like that,

any trace of it going on through."* 7

The New York Times, quoting a source

familiar with the autopsy, printed on December 18,

1963: "The first bullet made what was described as

a small, neat wound in the back and penetrated two

or three inches:Tive weeks later the Times said the

bullet, "hit the President in the back of his right

shoulder, several inches below the collar line. That

bullet lodged in his shoulder." The December 18,

1963 edition of the Washington Post disclosed that

a bullet "was found deep in his shoulder."

Obviously, if the bullet never exited Ken-

nedy's body, the missile never traveled on to strike

Connally. The single-bullet theory crumbles, for

the President and the Governor had to have been

struck by separate bullets. And, as Commission

counsel Norman Redlich admitted, "To say that

they were hit by separate bullets is synonymous

with saying there were at least two assassins."

A conspiracy is proven.

With the cooperation of the military-controlled

autopsy physicians, the Commission was able to

create a bullet path where no such path existed. It

performed further verbal plastic surgery — again

with help from the Bethesda doctors—by moving

the location of the wound six inches up Kennedy's

back.

The Warren Report places the wound at "the

base of the back of his neck." Is that really where it

was?

The FBI Summary Report states: "Medical

examination of the President's body revealed that

one of the bullets had entered just below his

shoulder to the right of the spinal columrt . . ."* 8

The Bureau's Supplemental Report refers to "the

bullet which entered his back . . . ."*9

The report of agents O'Neill and Sibert says,

tI . Dr. Humes located an opening which ap-

peared to be a bullet hole which was below the

shoulders and two inches to the right of the middle

line of the spinal column."*

The statements of Secret Service personnel are

consistent with those of the FBI agents:

Roy Kellerman told the Commission,

"Nobody was aware until they lifted him up

that there was a hole in his shoulder. "*10

William Greer was asked by Arlen

Specter, "Approximately where in the

President's back was the bullet hole?" Greer

replied, "It was . . . back here, just in the

soft part of that shoulder."*11

Glen Bennett, riding in the follow-up car

dire,,tly behind the Presidential Lincoln,

states: "I looked at the back of the

President. I hen-d another firecracker noise

and saw that shot hit the President about

four inches down from the right

shoulder."*12

Clint Hill was asked by commissioner Hale

Boggs, "Did you see any other wound other

than the head wound?" Hill said, "Yes, sir. I

saw an opening in the back, about six inches

below the neckline, * to the right hand side of

the spinal column ."13

All these reports are verified by photographs

of the coat and shirt worn by Kennedy when he was

shot. Published in the FBI Supplemental Report,

the photos clearly show the bullet hole. The hole in

the jacket is 5-3/8" below the top of the collar; the

hole in the shirt is 5-3/4" below the top of the

collar. It is interesting to , note that the

photographs of the coat used by the Commission

were taken under a great deal less light, so that the

bullet hole is not nearly as visible.

Furthermore, there is the autopsy report face

sheet. Not a part of the report itself, the face sheet

shows a diagram of the President's body; a black

dot representing the back wound is placed several

inches below the collar, in precisely the location

attested to by Secret Service personnel. The

location of the wound was described by Dr. J.

Thornton Boswell as a "diagram error,"14 and

Commander James Humes testified that the back

wound was higher than the throat wound—even

though he had marked the entrance wound well

* Emphasis added. * Emphasis added.

—

The Material Evidence 64

Kennedy's clothing. Shirt and coat show bullet holes nearly

"six inches below" where the Commission said the bullet en-

tered. Slits in tie and collar were made by a doctor's scalpel and

not by an exiting bullet, as the Commission maintained.

opening when it passes out the other side. Dr.

McClelland conceded that it was possible that the

throat wound marked the exit of a bullet fired into

the back of the President's neck . . . 'but we are

familiar with wounds,' he said. 'We see them every

day—sometimes several a day. This did appear to

be an entrance wound."'3021

It is interesting to note that for some four

weeks after the assassination, the Parkland doctors

continued to state publicly that they thought the

throat wound was one of entry. Then, after the

official version of the shooting (one gunman firing

from the rear) had been decided, two Secret Service

agents visited those physicians who had attended

Kennedy .22One by one, each doctor began to

announce that upon reflection, he had decided the

wound was in fact one of exit. One might guess that

like Richard Randolph Carr, the Parkland doctors

were told what they had observed.

Appearing before the Commission, behind

closed doors and under oath, the doctors still

suggested that the throat wound at least seemed to

be an entrance wound.

Dr. Malcom Perry: "The wound was

roughly spherical to oval shape, not a

punched-out wound, actually, nor was it

particularly ragged. It was rather clean cut,

but the blood obscured any detail about the

edges of the wound."24

Dr. Robert McClelland: ". . . if I saw the

wound in its state in which Dr. Perry

described it to me, I would probably initially

think this were an entrance wound."24

Dr. Ronald Jones: "The hole was very

small and relatively clean cut, as you would

see in a bullet that is entering rather than

exiting from a patient."25

Dr. Charles Baxter: "Judging from the

caliber of the rifle that we later found or

became acquainted with, this would resemble

a wound of entry. "26

No doubt the Commission itself was puzzled

over the throat wound, and the doubt of at least

one of its members is evident in a transcript of an

executive session held on December 16, 1963. John

McCloy offers this suggestion: "I think we ought

to take a look at the grounds* and somebody ought

to do it and get the picture of this angle to see if it is

humanly possible for him to have been hit in the

front from a shot fired from that window. Maybe it

is."27

* Emphasis added.

* The Commissioners finally visited Dealey Plaza nine months

after receiving their mandate.

•

I —'"'

--'

The Material Evidence 66

It is not humanly possible and each member of

the Commission knew it, just as they knew Ken-

nedy had been shot by more than one assassin. By

December 16 at least, the Commissioners must

have known they were going to sign their names to

a totally false report.

The most alarming thing about the throat

wound, however, is the possibility that it was

deliberately altered so it could not be recognized by

the autopsy physicians as being an entrance

wound.

On November 23 Commander James Humes of

the Bethesda staff telephoned Dr. Perry to inquire

about the President's throat wound, which Humes

had taken to be the result of a tracheotomy tube

placed in the throat; he was unable to recognize the

wound as being the result of a gunshot.*28Yet,

Perry described the wound to Humes as being

between three and five millimeters in diameter.

Perry said he had made a tracheotomy incision of a

few millimeters across the throat and into the

windpipe in order to insert a small tube as a means

of resuscitation.29This incision was merely a tiny

slit and the wound was recognizable as a gunshot

wound, even after the tracheotomy. But Humes

described the same wound as 6.5 centimeters in

diameter, ". . . with widely gaping irregular

edges. "30In inches, the wound as described by

Humes would be 2-9/16" long, quite a contrast to

the three to five millimeters (1/8" to 3/16", ap-

proximately) described by Perry.

The difference in the two descriptions suggests

the possibility that the wound's appearance was

obliterated after the body left Dallas and before it

reached Washington. Such an act could have been

committed only by Dr. Burkley (Kennedy's

physician), or by the party in custody of the

President's body: the Secret Service. That idea

might sound absurd until one considers the conduct

of certain members of that agency on November 22

(discussed in Chapter Seven).

The Sixth Floor Sniper's Nest

At 12:30 p.m., November 22, 1963, a gun was

seen in the easternmost window on the sixth floor

of the Texas School Book Depository. Several

hours later that location had been designated as the

* During the autopsy the surgeons thought the wound might

have been caused by a bullet or skull fragment from the fatal

head shot. This theory has been advanced by Professor Josiah

Thompson, a long-time critic of the Warren Report. However,

the Zapruder film shows JFK clutching at his throat as early as

frame 227; the head shot did not occur until frame 313, 4-7/10

seconds later.

EutinvcE CEP;

Sik,*

sniper's nest, and later became known as "the Ft.4,42

Oswald window."

Contained in the Warren Commission exhibits

are at least three variations of this so-called

sniper's nest. The photographs of the three ver-

sions are labeled as Commission Exhibits 509, 724

and 733. A possible fourth version may appear in a

picture taken by Dallas Morning News

photographer Jack Beers.*

J. C. Day of the Dallas Police crime scene

search section arrived at the TSBD 45 minutes

after the assassination and, we are told,

photographed the sixth floor lair in its original

arrangement. All photos of the nest published in

the Hearings were taken after 3:00 p.m., November

22, and on November 25. This is determined by the

shadows and light seen outside the window, the

three different positions of the boxes, and police

photographer R. L. Studebaker's admission that he

took additional photos on Monday, November 25.

By his own admission, Lt. Day returned to the

TSBD at 3:00 p.m., November 22 (after taking the

Mannlicher Carcano rifle to the police Crime Lab)

and made additional pictures of the area near the

corner window allegedly used by Oswald. Day also

admitted that the lair had been changed from its

original condition:

Mr. Belin. In 724 there are boxes in the

window. Were those boxes in the window the

way you saw them, or had they been replaced

in the window to reconstruct it?

Mr. Day. They had simply been moved in

the processing for prints. They weren't put

back in any particular order.

Mr. Belin. So 724 does not represent, so

far as the boxes are concerned, the crime

scene when you first came to the sixth floor,

is that correct?

Mr. Day. That is correct.

Mr. Belin. Let me ask you this: Had all of

the boxes of the stack in 724 been replaced

there or had any of the boxes been in a

position they were at the time you first

arrived at the building, if you know?

Mr. Day. No, sir; they had not been placed

in the proper position or approximate

position at the time we arrived.

One wonders just how many times the police

actually photographed the rebuilt versions of the

nest, with this remark by Studebaker: ". . . that

stuff has been up there and back until I was so

* Two days later Beers, who died in February, 1975, took a

famous photograph of Jack Ruby as he lunged forward to shoot

Oswald.

...•••••n••••n••n•,^",..

77.[P.:477IF

COVER-UP

Taken only seconds after the assassination, these photographs

show sniper's nest with box one-quarter of window width from

right [east] edge of window frame.

Taken less than 15 minutes after the shooting, these photos

also show the "Oswald window" with the box in its original

condition.

The Material Evidence

In this "official" photograph [Commission Exhibit 733] of the

window taken from building's interior, stack of boxes has been

moved from its original position of one-quarter distance from

east [left] edge of frame to one-half distance. New position now

provided adequate space for aiming and firing rifle.

Photograph taken at approximately 4:00 p.m., November 22,

shows further "remodeling" of the assassin's lair.

This picture, Commission Exhibit 509, shows the boxes in yet

another position.

Commission Exhibit 724: a further rearrangement of the

assassin's lair.

November 25—the fourth day spent by authorities building and

COVER-UP

Photograph taken November 24—authorities continue to work

at the sniper's window.

rebuilding the confusing sniper's nest. Commission Exhibit 512 shows the three scattered cartridges.

From autopsy report face

sheet: arrow points to

wound near

President's left temple.

71 COVER-UP

questioned about this when he appeared before the

Commission.

Dr. Marion Jenkins of the Parkland staff

testified, ". . . I don't know whether this is right or

not, but I thought there was a wound on the left

temple area . . . " Commission counsel Arlen

Spector quickly advised Jenkins, "The autopsy

report discloses no such development."34

True, such a wound is not mentioned in the

autopsy report, although its existence is indicated

in a sketch by one of the three autopsy physicians.

A drawing by autopsy surgeon J. Thornton

Boswell, depicting a top view of Kennedy's skull,

shows a wound three centimeters (1-3/16") in

diameter in the left forehead. Furthermore, the

autopsy face sheet—a diagram showing a frontal

view of the President's body—shows a black dot

over the left eye; a black dot is used on the same

diagram to represent the other wounds on the

body, those in the head and back.

Several witnesses spoke of a wound on the left

side of the head. Father Oscar Huber, who ad-

ministered the last rites to Kennedy, is quoted as

saying he saw a "terrible wound" over the

President's left eye—exactly where it appears on

the autopv face sheet—as he anointed JFK's

forehead.*

Dr. Adolph Giesecke of Parkland thought he

had seen a wound in the left temple.37

Photographer James Altgens testified, "There was

flesh particles that flew out of the side of his head in

my direction from where I was standing, so much

so that it indicated to me that the shot came out of

the left side of his head. "38Norman Similas, the

Canadian whose photo taken during the

assassination was lost, told reporters that he

"could see a hole in the President's left temple and

his head and hair were bathed in blood."39

Did this wound exist? Was it an exit wound

from the head shot fired from the rear? The wound

L is not mentioned in the autopsy report.

* As the priest left Trauma Room One he was pulled aside by

two Secret Service agents and told, "Father, you don't know

anything."36Father Huber died in 1973.

Autopsy Photographs and X-Rays

Based on what we have discussed in this

chapter, it isn't difficult to guess why federal

authorities have so zealously guarded the

photographs and x-rays of President Kennedy's

body. They include 22 4"x5" color transparencies;

18 4"x6" black and white negatives; and one roll

of 120 film containing five exposures.49

They were given to Secret Service agent Roy

Kellerman and taken to the White House on

November 23;41from there they remained in limbo

for several years. Certainly the Warren Com-

mission had access to them, but for reasons of

"taste" declined to view them, relying instead on

the testimony of the autopsy physicians and ar-

tists' sketches made from verbal descriptions by

the physicians.42

These materials were wrongly held to be the

property of the Kennedy family and on October 29,

1966, the family "donated" them to the United

States Government.' Access to the materials was

subject to strict regulations imposed by the

Kennedys. The only persons permitted to view

them were government-sponsored teams of doctors

in 1967 (after books like Rush to Judgement and

Inquest had destroyed all public faith in the

Warren Report) and in 1968 (in an attempt to

discredit Jim Garrison's investigation in New

Orleans).' Because these medical teams were

sponsored by the government, they had a

responsibility to support the official version and

they complied accordingly.

It is significant that the only non-government

pathologist to see the photographs and X-rays says

they absolutely do not support the conclusions of

the Warren Report. Not until August, 1972 was

Dr. Cyril Wecht allowed to study the materials. 45

He is coroner of Allegheny County (Pittsburg),

Pennsylvania and clinical associate professor of

pathology at the University of Pittsburg School of

Medicine.46He is not a quack or an unqualified

urologist, as is Dr. John K. Lattimer, who has so

eagerly concluded that the autopsy materials

"eliminate any doubt completely" that the Warren

Commission was correct.47

Wecht, who has since become one of the most

outspoken critics of the Warren Report, has

concluded:

"The Warren Commission's 'single-bullet

theory' is untenable, and the Commission's

conclusion that there was only one assassin

cannot be reconciled with available evidence.

Medical and photographic data, including

measurements of wound angles and

calculations of bullet trajectories, strongly

COVER-UP

Walthers stoops to retrieve something from the turf. Walthers' hand holding an unidentifiable object.

Walthers straightens up, clutching something in his right

hand. "Agent" moves in to inspect the area. Agent reaches for something on ground.

The Material Evidence

Enlargement of agent's hand, from a slightly different angle,

reveals what appears to be a spent bullet.

Agent stands, clutching object in hand.

Agent places object in left pants pocket.

Nov. 23 edition of Fort Worth "Star-Telegram" printed this

photo with the caption, "Assassin's bullet—One of the rifle

bullets fired by the murderer of President Kennedy lies in the

grass across Elm Street from the building in which the killer

was hiding and from where he launched his assault."

——

COVER-UP

composition were found* by this method, these

were not considered to be sufficient to permit

positively differentiating among the larger bullet

fragments and thus positively determining from

which of the larger bullet fragments any given

small lead fragment may have come. "5Q

In other words, Hoover implies that the tests

were inconclusive.

But this letter emerges as one of the most

damaging pieces of evidence against the single-

bullet theory, for what Hoover does not mention is

that with NAA the amount of difference between

particles is virtually meaningless; any difference,

no matter how small, is both sufficient and

irrefutable.51The tests were conclusive and they

prove that JFK and the Governor were indeed

struck by separate bullets.

"Missing": JFK's Brain and Skin Tissues

John Kennedy's brain was removed during the

autopsy and preserved for examination at a later

date. Certain sections were taken through the skin

at the supposed wounds of entry in the rear of the

head and in the back. The brain and skin tissue

sections were examined by the autopsy team two

weeks after the autopsy and additional

photographs were made at that time.52

All of these items were supposed to have been

turned over to the National Archives on April 26,

1965 by Admiral George Burkley, but they are not

included in the inventory of items officially given

the government by the Kennedy family.53When

Dr. Wecht was finally permitted to study the

autposy materials, he made a startling discovery:

all of these items are missing.from the Archives.54

There has been no attempt on the part of the

government to account for the missing items; we

have no way of knowing if they have been

destroyed or stolen. It appears to be merely

another tactic in what Wecht calls "a prolonged

and willful cover-up of the Commission's failure by

the government."55

Were these items available, a qualified

pathologist like Dr. Wecht could determine

whether all the shots were fired from the rear or if

shots came from the right front; the path of the

bullet through the brain could be discerned and the

location of the gunman determined.

One mystery which could be solved would be

the identification of an object that appears in

photographs of the brain. It is dark gray-brown

and measures 1/2 " x 3/4". According to Wecht, the

object has a slight focal shimmering effect in some

* Emphasis added.

pictures that could just be photographic artifacts,

or could be due to some light reflection caused by

materials contained in the object.57

Whatever it is, the object was not even

mentioned by the autopsy physicians, even though

they held a supplemental examination two weeks

after the autopsy. They did not fully examine the

brain by sectioning it—a normal and routine

medical procedure.57

We fully agree with Dr. Wecht, who wrote in

1972:

"To voluntarily omit such an examination is

to be incompetent or a fool, and I do not

believe the autopsy pathologists were either.

I believe that they were instructed not to do a

complete examination of the brain. The

decision was not theirs.

" Also, I think it is very clear that the

autopsy pathologists did not comment on

that object in the brain because, again, they

were instructed not to."58

As we shall see in a later chapter, these

military physicians were, in fact, ordered by their

superiors not to conduct a complete examination of

Kennedy's body.

MATERIAL EVIDENCE DESTROYED r04,400rA.E. 06.5144,40 ~5/44.

The Presidential Limousine

Within 48 hours of the shots in Dealey Plaza

the Kennedy death car was shipped to the Ford

Motor Company in Detroit and completely

destroyed, as far as evidence was concerned.59This

was done after a cursory examination by the FBI.

The inside, which may have contained bloodstains,

bullet holes or bullet fragments was entirely

Presidential limousine after the ambush.

• "

COVER-UP

reason seems quite obvious: there was great

conflict between the autopsy report drafted that

November weekend and the one which eventually

appeared in the Warren Report. By consigning the

original notes to flames, Humes or his superiors

hoped to resolve the conflict.

Humes testified that the official autopsy

report was drafted on November 24, 1963, and

given to the Commission on December 23.64 This

version, we are told, holds that a whole bullet

entered Kennedy's neck and exited his throat.

But recall that during the January 27, 1964

session of the Commission, more than a month

after the autopsy was in the hands of the Com-

mission, J. Lee Rankin remarks, "We have an

explanation there in the autopsy that probably a

fragment* came out the front of the neck . . . ."

Thus, at that stage of the.game, the Commission

was under the impression that a bullet fragment

had caused that throat wound, and wondered how a

fragment from the back wound could have caused

the throat wound, since the back wound was below

the one in front.

The implication here is momentous: as of

January 27, 1964 the Commission did not have,

contrary to Humes' testimony, the report it later

published as the "official" autopsy report. It

apparently had in January, an earlier and different

report.

This is merely another indication of the

lengths taken by elements of the government in

order to conceal the facts about the murder of the

L Chief Executive.

Notes Taken During Oswald's Interrogation

During his brief period in the custody of the

Dallas Police, the man who was supposed to be the

century's most important prisoner was questioned

for a total of twelve hours:66yet we are led to

believe that no notes were taken and that the

sessions were not recorded on tape or transcripts

made. What did Oswald say during those twelve

hours? Did he reveal that he was an informer for the

FBI? Did he admit to having prior knowledge of

the assassination? Did he admit to being involved

in a conspiracy?

J. Will Fritz, the man in charge of Oswald's

interrogation, told the Warren Commission that he

"kept no notes ."*66Does that mean that he passed

them on to his superiors? Gave them to the FBI?

Destroyed them? Fritz, a long-time veteran of the

department, was well-respected and was regarded

by police agencies across the nation as a highly

efficient law officer.

We do not believe that he would overlook the

long-established procedure of recording the

statements of a prisoner, particularly when the

prisoner had allegedly killed the President of the

United States. The question remains: why did he

keep no notes? As we shall see in a later chapter,

Will Fritz apparently received orders from very

high authority . . . .

Conclusion.

Time and again the Warren Commission, the

investigative agencies it relied upon for evidence,

and others willfully suppressed evidence (a possible

wound in JFK's left temple, the autopsy

photographs and x-rays, at least two bullets, the

actual results of spectographic analysis and NAA

tests). They intentionally altered evidence: the

location of Kennedy's back wound and the nature

of the throat wound, and the sixth floor "sniper's

nest." They destroyed important evidence, in-

cluding the original autopsy notes, possibly the

notes taken during Oswald's interrogation, the

Presidential limousine and Connally's suit and

shirt.

Clearly there was an attempt by Federal and

local authorities to conceal the facts as contained in

the evidence. The cover-up is all too obvious.

• Emphasis added. • Emphasis added.

The Material Evidence 80

NOTES - CHAPTER THREE

1. Report, p. 5.

2. FBI Summary Report, p. 18.

3. FBI Supplemental Report, p. 2.

4. CD 7 (Sibert-O'Neill Report).

5. Ibid.

6. II H 93.

7. Ibid, 127.

8. FBI Summary Report, p. 18.

9. FBI Supplemental Report, p. 2.

10. II H 93.

11. Ibid, 27.

12. Report, p. 111

13. II H 143.

14. Ibid.

15. Weisberg-Post Mortem, p. 239.

1G. II H 373.

17. Cited in Whitewash IV (Weisberg), p. 102.

18. New York Times, 11-23-63.

19. Ibid, 11-27-63.

20. Life, 11-29-63.

21. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12-01-63.

22. Ibid, 12-18-63.

23. VI H 9.

24. Ibid, 37.

25. Ibid, 55.

26. Ibid, 42.

27. Cited in Forgive My Grief IV (Jones), p. 151.

28. II H 362.

29. III H 369, 370.

30. XVII H 34.

31. Interview of Roger Craig by Gary Shaw and Penn Jones.

32. Conversation with Mary Ferrell, 12-12-75.

33. XVII H 12.

34. VI H 48.

35. Philadelphia Sunday-Bulletin, 11-24-63.

36. Bishop-The Day Kennedy Was Shot, p. 224.

37. VI H 74.

38. VII H 518.

39. New York Times, 11-24-63.

40. CD 7 (Sibert-O'Neill Report).

41. Ibid.

42. Saturday Evening Post, 1-14-67.

43. Modern Medicine, 10-28-74 (article by Dr. Wecht).

44. Ibid.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. Ibid.

48. Ibid.

49. Letter from J. Edgar Hoover to J. Lee Rankin, 7-18-64,

cited in Modern Medicine, 10-28-74.

50. Ibid.

51. New Times, 4-18-75 (Anson-"The Greatest Cover-up of

All").

52. Modern Medicine, 10.28-74.

53. Ibid.

54. Ibid.

55. The Forensic Science Gazette, 9-73 (article by Wecht &

Smith).

56. Modern Medicine, 10-28-74.

57. Ibid.

58. Ibid.

59. Jones-Forgive My Grief III, p. 2.

60. Ibid (Vol. II), p. 73.

61. Ibid.

62. Ibid.

63. XVII H 48.

64. II H 373.

65. Report, p. 180.

66. Ibid.

COVER-UP

Lee Harvey Oswald protests as Dallas Police officers drag him

from the Texas Theatre one hour and twenty minutes after the

assassination. He was not the only suspect arrested in con-

nection with the President's murder; there were at least a dozen

others . . . .

Truth is the glue that holds government

together . . . .

—Gerald Ford

August 9, 1974

CHAPTER FOUR

OTHER SUSPECTS

ARRESTED AND RELEASED

Lee Harvey Oswald was not the only man

arrested in Dallas for questioning about the

assassination. Though not generally known, at

least a dozen other persons were arrested and in-

terrogated regarding the President's murder. Me

in and around Dealey Plaza were taken into

custody and two were arrested in Fort Worth.

Another was arrested in New Orleans. These men

were arrested in connection with the Kennedy

murder, yet almost all were released shortly after

the apprehension of Oswald, although ostensibly he

was brought in for the murder of police officer J. D.

Tippit, rather than that of the President.

Arrests . . . Tramps or Assassins?

Three of the arrests which assassination

researchers have long felt significant were brought

to public attention when the Rockefeller Com-

mission investigating CIA activities domestically

briefly studied a series of photographs taken

shortly after the assassination.

Three different photographers took pictures of

three tramps being escorted by Dallas Police to the

Sheriff's office. The FBI was asked to examine the

photos after comedian-activist Dick Gregory

publicly made erroneous charges that two of the

tramps were actually Watergate conspirators E.

Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis, thereby in-

dicating CIA involvement in the assassination.

While the two tramps do bear a slight (very

slight) resemblance to Hunt and Sturgis in one of

the photographs, the other pictures clearly show

that Gregory is mistaken and his conjecture both

irresponsible and damaging to serious work by

other critics and researchers. No credible critic has

ever agreed with the comedian. In fact photo-

analyst Robert Groden, whose work on the

Zapruder film is so valuable, spent a considerable

amount of time before the Rockefeller panel ex-

plaining why Hunt and Sturgis could not be the

men in the photographs. Still, critics like Michael

Canfield and A. J. Weberman (whose book Coup

d' Etat In America is irresponsible journalism at its

worst) continue to insist that the Watergate duo

are the same men seen in the tramp photos. In

doing so they only damage the credibility of

competent researchers who seek a new in-

vestigation of JFK's death.

The Rockefeller Report is just as dishonest and

deceptive as that issued by the Warren Com-

mission, and is actually an extension of the cover-

up inaugurated in the 1964 report. The CIA

Report's chapter dealing with the Kennedy

assassination implies that because Hunt and

Sturgis were not the tramps in question, they were

not assassins, and if they were not assassins, no

shot or shots could have been fired from the grassy

knoll. That, of course, is blatant deception, for no

legitimate critic has even claimed or implied that

Hunt or Sturgis was a gunman or members of the

assassination team. However, the case of the three

tramps cannot be dismissed so lightly.

These "derelicts" were discovered by police

crouching in an open boxcar parked on the tracks

COVER-UP

Various photographs show three unidentified "tramps" being

taken into custody by Dallas Police; the three were found

crouching in a railroad box car south of Dealey Plaza. Whether

or not they were tramps is open to question, as they are clean

shaven and have recent barbershop haircuts.

Other Suspects Arrested and Released

E. Howard Hunt Frank Sturgis Fred Crisman

on the south side of Dealey Plaza near the Terminal

Annex Building.5A close look at the photographs

reveals that at least one and possibly two of the

men are not real tramps, for they appear to have

had recent barbershop haircuts, their clothing is

not as worn as a tramp's would be, and the soles of

their shoes are thick.

While the oldest of the three is obviously not

Howard Hunt, he may be Fred Lee Crisman, a

Minuteman from Washington, D.C. So maintains

computer scientist Richard Sprague, a diligent

assassination researcher.6Sprague and others have

long been interested in the first tramp, nicknamed

"Frenchy" because of his clothing; because he

was found hiding in a boxcar, a number of

researchers believe this man may have been one of

the actual gunmen who shot JFK. Photographs

show the tall tramp smirking, seemingly amused

over the matter, but "Frenchy" has a stern ex-

pression and seems quite concerned about the

situation.

Several researchers believe "Frenchy" may

provide a connection to the slaying of Martin

Luther King, for he bears a startling, identical

Memphis Police sketch of

King gunman.

resemblance to the police sketch of the first suspect

in the shooting of the civil rights leader. Only one

person, Mrs. Grace Walden, actually saw a man

leave the room determined by Memphis police to be

the origin of the shot that killed King; the police

sketch that so resembles "Frenchy" was based

upon her description of the man she had seen. Two

years later Mrs. Walden identified a photograph of

a right-wing Louisiana State Policeman as the man

she saw immediately following the King shooting.?

Who were the three men arrested thirty

minutes after Kennedy was shot? Were all three

real tramps or was one or more of them part of an

assassination team? Thanks to Dallas law en-

forcement officials and the FBI, we may never

know. Deputy Sheriff Harold Elkins released them

without any arrest record being made, or any mug

shots or fingerprints being taken. Not even their

names were written down.8

More arrests . . . the Dal-Tex Building

Three more men were arrested in the Dal-Tex

Building, directly across Houston Street from the

Book Depository. Several researchers, including

Harold Weisberg, Penn Jones, Robert Groden and

Richard Sprague, believe one or more shots were

fired from this building.

Phil Willis, a witness to the assassination, told

the author that police escorted from the building a

young man wearing a black leather jacket and

black gloves. Willis photographed the suspect but

says he destroyed the print so as not to embarrass

the unidentified man.9There is no mention of this

suspect in police reports from that weekend.

A man named Larry Florer was taken into

custody as he left the Dal-Tex Building. Florer

gave a written statement that he was eating lunch

on Pacific Street, two blocks north of Elm, when he

heard on a radio that shots had been fired at the

motorcade. He wandered over to the assassination

COVER-UP85

site and asked a woman where he could find a

telephone; she directed him to the third floor of the

Dal-Tex Building but Florer said all phone lines

were busy there, so he left and was apprehended as

he exited the lobby.10A film of the arrest shows

Florer staggering back and forth as though in-

toxicated.

Larry Florer under arrest.

vagrancy, after Braden and an associate had

swindled a pair of wealthy widows;12over the years

Braden has had a penchant for marrying—and later

deserting—rich widows. Braden's career in crime is

too extensive to cover here; the reader is referred to

Peter Noyes' Legacy of Doubt (Pinnacle Books,

1973).

On November 22 Braden told authorities that

he was in Dallas from Beverly Hills, California on

oil business.13The day before, he had been

scheduled to meet with Lamar Hunt, son of the late

oil billionaire H. L. Hunt. That same day Jack

Ruby was in the Hunt offices, ostensibly to help a

young woman get a job.14Braden and a traveling

friend were staying at the Cabana Motor Hotel,

where on the evening of November 21 Ruby just

happened to meet with two Chicago friends in the

lounge.15The Cabana (now the Hyatt House)

overlooks Stemmons Freeway, which the

presidential motorcade would have taken enroute

to the Trade Mart.

Upon his arrival in Dallas, Braden checked in

with a parole officer and used the name Eugene

Hale Brading.18But when he was arrested he

A third man was arrested in the building after

he too had tried to use a telephone on the third

floor. This man, Jim Braden (alias Eugene Hale

Brading), is perhaps the most interesting of all the

arrested men whose identities are known. He is a

known Mafia courier with extensive ties to

organized crime and a record of thirty arrests

dating from 1934.11

Eleven years earlier he had been arrested in

Dallas by Sheriff Bill Decker on charges of

Braden-Brading 1951 mug shot.

presented a California driver's license bearing the

name "Jim Braden"; the name on the license had

been changed from Brading to Braden two months

earlier, and he was able to be questioned without

raising suspicion.17

While Braden was being interrogated, his

roommate, ex-convict Morgan H. Brown, abruptly

checked out of the Cabana at 2:00 p.m., even

though the pair had made arrangements to stay

through November 24.18Ironically, a character like

Braden, who may very well have had some in-

volvement in the assassination, was detained only

momentarily; Larry Florer, mentioned previously,

was in custody for several hours.Jim Braden in Dealey Plaza

•

. '

•

• . •

• -

•

' .;

•

• -

-•

---, -

•

' ' •

, ,

----

Other Suspects Arrested and Released 88

nection with the shooting of President Kennedy (or

possibly of Officer J. D. Tippit), and that law en-

forcement officials failed even to record his name.

Unidentified youth being led from Capt. Fritz's office at the

time of Oswald's incarceration in that office.

cf.) WELT" /2.121.MS

In a taped interview with the author, Deputy1

Sheriff Roger Craig related that Dallas Police

arrested a Latin man on Elm Street minutes after

the assassination. Unlike others, this man was

spared from a time-consuming trip to Police

headquarters, the reason being he could not speak

English! He was released on-the-spot. Craig

subsequently identified this same man as the driver

of the Rambler station wagon in which, according

to the deputy sheriff, he saw Oswald leave Dealey

Plaza. In view of Oswald's connections with Latin

and Cuban figures, this arrest could have been of

great import. We have to agree with Sylvia

Meagher, who derisively wrote, "Not many police

departments can match the Dallas force."21

Still More Arrests . . . Two Men in Fort Worth

Meanwhile, the Fort Worth police made an

assassination-related arrest 90 minutes after

Kennedy was shot, and they remembered to take

the suspect's name: Donald Wayne House, a man

who somewhat resembled Lee Oswald.

House told the FBI he did not work that day

because of rain, and that he had driven more than

100 miles to Dallas from his home in Ranger, Texas

to visit an old army buddy. Arriving in Dallas

about 10:30 a.m., he parked his car at an

unidentified location on Commerce Street and tried

to telephone his friend, Randall Hunsaker, who

resided in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite.22 It is

odd that House did not phone his friend prior to

driving such a distance.

Unable to reach Hunsaker, House decided to

go to Fort Worth but traffic was heavy because of

the Presidential motorcade, so he parked his car

and watched the parade before departing.23

That afternoon at about 1:35 the Dallas Police

dispatcher sent out an alert for a green and white

1957 Ford, Texas license #DT-4857.2A That vehicle

was registered to House. The source of the report

was a Mrs. Cunningham, who called the Grand

Prairie, Texas police and told them that the car had

been involved in the assassination and was enroute

to Ranger.*25Mrs. Cunningham is otherwise

unidentified and apparently there was no attempt

by the FBI to locate or further identify her. Ten

minutes after the alert was broadcast, House was

stopped on the east side of Fort Worth near Haltom

City. Tarrant County law officers booked House

into the city jail where he was questioned by two

FBI agents and released upon the news that

Oswald had been apprehended.

At 2:19 p.m. a Dallas Police unit was

dispatched to 5818 Belmont, where someone had

been observed removing a rifle from a light green,

two-tone vehicle.26The car did not belong to House

but a second automobile at that location was

registered to a George T. Hunsaker of Dallas.27 Is

this man related to House's friend, Randall

Hunsaker? Apparently the FBI and Dallas Police

overlooked a possible connection, for there are no

indications the lead was followed. And had they

checked they might have learned that in March,

1964, prior to license renewal, House junked his

six-year-old green and white Ford.28

House unknowingly may have been an im-

portant man in November, 1963. It is quite likely

that the assassination planners were operating with

several concurrent plans with several patsies. Had

Oswald failed to function as anticipated, blame for

the murder could have fallen on someone like

* The city of Ranger, Texas may take on added significance in

view of a story related to the authors in 1975. A Cleburne,

Texas resident relates that the week of the assassination he

drove with a man he believed to be Lee Harvey Oswald from

Juarez, Mexico to Fort Worth. They stopped in Ranger and

"Oswald" made a local telephone call. (See Chapter 5).

Other Suspects Arrested and Released

The Lying Car Salesman

Jack Lawrence was arrested later that af-

ternoon and held in jail for 24 hours. Judging from

his peculiar behavior on November 22, one cannot

help but garner the idea that he was somehow

involved in the assassination.

Jack Lawrence, arrested by police because he behaved so

suspiciously on the afternoon of November 22.

In October, 1963 Lawrence had shown up at

Downtown Lincoln-Mercury two blocks west of

Dealey Plaza and obtained employment as a car

salesman after presenting what appeared to be

excellent references from an auto dealership in New

Orleans; independent researchers have since

discovered that the references were completely

phony. He never sold one car, from the time his

employment began until he abruptly quit on

November 23.30

Lawrence came to Dallas from Los Angeles

and was known as an ardent right-wing speaker.

According to the Babushka Lady, he was

frequently seen in Jack Ruby's Carousel Club and

was a close friend of Ruby's roommate, George

Senator.

On Thursday, November 21 Lawrence received

permission to borrow a company car, after telling

his boss that he had a "heavy date" that evening.31

Friday morning Lawrence failed to report to

work and the supervisor became concerned about

the borrowed car. Then, thirty minutes after the

President was shot, Lawrence came hurrying

through the showroom with mud on his clothes,

pale and sweating profusely; he ran to the restroom

and threw up. He told co-workers that he had been

ill that morning, tried to drive the car back to the

dealership and finally parked it because traffic was

so heavy; two employees went to get the car.

Lawrence, an expert marksman in the Air Force,

had parked the vehicle behind the wooden fence on

the knoll, overlooking the assassination site.32

His behavior was so suspicious that one of his

co-workers called police. Lawrence was taken in for

questioning and held overnight. Following his

release the next day, he immediately left Dallas and

went to his parent's home in South Charlestown,

West Virginia.

One More Arrest That Night . . Oswald's

Chauffeur

On the evening of November 22, Buell Wesley

Frazier was arrested in Irving and taken to Dallas

Police headquarters for questioning. Frazier was

the 19-year old man who worked with Oswald at the

Book Depository and had driven the accused

assassin to work that Friday morning. The police

searched the home of Frazier's sister, with whom he

lived, and confiscated his British .300 rifle, an

ammunition clip and a box of ammunition.33

Frazier was questioned extensively, released

and was enroute to Irving in a police squad car

when headquarters sent a radio message to return

with Frazier.34He consented to undergo a poly-

graph examination, which was administered at

midnight.35

During questioning Frazier told his now-

famous story that Oswald had normally ac-

companied him to Irving on weekends, to visit

Marina and the children, but had asked to go there

on Thursday; then the next morning Oswald

Buell Wesley Frazier: an unwitting participant in the framing

of Oswald?

Other Suspects Arrested and Released 92

David Ferrie in 1961.

The Ferrie incident lay forgotten until late

1966 when Garrison launched his probe into a

possible New Orleans-based conspiracy to

assassinate JFK. Ferrie was placed under 24-hour

surveillance, eventually taken into protective

custody and questioned for two days. Then, on

February 22, 1967, two days after his release and

five days after Garrison's investigation was made

public, Ferrie was found dead in his apartment.41

The coroner's office ruled death from natural causes

(a massive brain hemorrhage). Two typewritten

suicide notes with typewritten signatures were

found near the body.42

Garrison was not alone in his interest in Ferrie,

for many pages of Warren Commission documents,

omitted from the 26 volumes, are devoted to Ferrie

and his diverse activities. Among other things, he

was a CIA contract employee involved in training

AI Beaubeouf, another Ferrie companion.

Layton Martens, one of Ferrie's traveling companions.

anti-Castro Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs in-

vasion; a private investigator for New Orleans

Mafia chieftain Carlos Marcello and for Guy

Banister, a former FBI agent and private detective

who was deeply involved in anti-Castro activity;*

an accomplished pianist; a self-styled psychologist;

a hypnotist; a cancer researcher who kept hundreds

of white mice uncaged in his apartment; and a free-

lance pilot.43

Garrison has described Ferrie as "one of

history's most important individuals." He may

have been. In 1968 one of Ferrie's many

homosexual roommates disclosed that he had been

told by Ferrie of his involvement in the JFK

* Banister, once in charge of the Chicago office of the FBI,

figured prominently in the investigation of New Orleans D.A.

Jim Garrison. Banister died of a heart attack in 1964.

On August 9, 1963 Oswald was arrested in New Orleans

when an altercation broke out as h•distributed Fair Play For

Cuba leaflets. Page 408 of the Warren Report states, "While

the legend 'FPCC 544 Camp Street, New Orleans, La.' was

stamped on some literature that Oswald had in his possession

at the time of his arrest in New Orleans, extensive Investigation

was not able to connect Oswald with that address, although it

did develop the fact that an anti-Castro organization had

maintained offices there for a period of time ending early in

1962.

Indeed, 544 Camp Street was a hotbed of right-wing, anti-

Castro activity, much of it under the direction of Banister and

sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency. The address for

Banister's detective agency was given as 531 Lafayette place—

the side entrance of 544 Camp Street. Garrison produced

several witnesses who placed Oswald in and around that ad.

dress, also the headquarters of the Cuban Democratic

Revolutionary Front.

Directly across from 544 Camp is the U. S. Courthouse,

which in 1963 housed the local headquarters of the CIA. One

block away is the Reily Company, a coffee firm where Oswald

worked during the summer months of 1963.

The reader is referred to chapter six of Garrison's book, A

Heritage of Stone."

COVER-UP

Guy W. Bannister—former FBI agent and avowed right-wing

activist.

assassination. According to Ray Broshears, Ferrie

told him that he had gone to Houston to pick up

two of Kennedy's assassins and fly them, by way of

South America, to South Africa, with which the

United States had no extradition treaty.* Ferrie,

says Broshears, was waiting for the pair at a

Ray Broshears, a Ferrie roommate.

* Reportedly, a private plane with engines running was seized

at Dallas' Red Bird Airport by Federal authorities on the af-

ternoon of November 22, 1963. This plane was placed in a

hangar by authorities, sealed and kept under guard for several

days.45

Houston airport; the assassins, enroute from

Dallas by private plane, never showed up.`4

Civil Air Patrol cadet Lee Oswald

Other Suspects Arrested and Released 94

Like Lee Oswald, Ferrie died before he had a

chance to divulge any information he might have

had about the conspiracy to kill John Kennedy. We

firmly agree with Garrison's assessment of David

Ferrie: he was one of history's most important

individuals.

No Conspiracy . . . Oswald Alone Committed the

Crime.

No less than a dozen men were arrested in

Dallas, two in Fort Worth and one in New Orleans.

Some of them may have been—and quite likely

were—involved in the assassination of President

Kennedy. As for those arrested in Dallas, almost

all—with the exception of the man held in jail three

weeks—were released once Lee Oswald was taken

into custody. This method of operation by Dallas

law enforcement officials, particularly for such a

momentous crime, is not typical.

A "no conspiracy" advisory message came

early that afternoon and it came long before any

facts related to the murder could be assembled by

local authorities. The message came, not from

Dallas, but from Washington, D.C. Why were

these other suspects so quickly brushed aside once

Oswald had been apprehended?

David Ferrie and Julian Buznedo.

COVER-UP

These photographs of Lee Harvey

Oswald's arrest were taken

by Dallas resident S. L. Reed;

they are published here for the

first time anywhere.

[Right]: Crowd gathers in front

of Texas Theatre as a protesting Oswald

is escorted out by police; uniformed

officer on left is covering Oswald's

face with his white hat. Contrary to

the police story, a theatre patron said that

inside the building Oswald stood up, raised

his hands over his head and said, "I am not

resisting arrest. I am not resisting arrest."

But, the witness said, police officers began

to beat Oswald, and one struck him

in the back with the butt of a shotgun.

[Left]: Police restrain hostile

bystanders as Oswald is placed in

police car. Although Dallas Police

supposedly had no way of

knowing that the man they were

arresting had anything to do

with the murders of President

Kennedy and Officer Tippit, one

officer was heard to say,

"This man [Oswald] killed the

President!" as they brought

Oswald from the theatre. Another

Policeman remarked to the ticket-taker,

"We have our man on both counts."

[Right]: Police continue to restrain people

in crowd as officers prepare to drive

Oswald to police headquarters—where

he was murdered two days later.

Driving is Sgt. Gerald Hill, who is

discussed in the next chapter.

Other Suspects Arrested and Released 96

NOTES - CHAPTER FOUR

1. Rolling Stone, 4-24-75.

2. Lecture by Robert Groden, Dallas, Texas, May 17, 1975.

3. Canfield & Weberman, Coup d' etas in America (chapter 5).

4. Rockefeller Commission Report, pp. 255-257.

5. Interview of Roy Vaughn (Dallas Police) by Penn Jones and

Larry Harris, September 1975.

6. Letter from Richard Sprague to Larry Harris.

7. "The Assassination of Martin Luther King" by Wayne

Chastain; Computers and People magazine (February 1974-

December 1974).

8. Sprague, Richard - "Who Killed President John F. Kennedy?

Why? How?" People & the Pursuit of Truth, October,

1975.

9. Interview of Phil Willis by Gary Shaw.

10. 19, H, 476 (Decker Exhibit 5323).

11. Forgive My Grief, Vol. IV, p. 123 (Article by Earl Golz).

12. Ibid, p. 129.

13. 19, H, 469 (Decker Exhibit 5323).

14. 25, H, 194 and 219.

15. Warren Report, p. 334.

16. Forgive My Grief, IV, p. 123.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Noyes, Peter - Legacy of Doubt, Pinnacle Books, 1973.

20. Dallas Times-Herald, 12-10-63.

21. Meagher, Sylvia - Accessories After the Fact (Foreword, p.

XX V/. .

22. Copy of FBI Report dated 11-23-63.

23. Ibid.

24. 19, H, 523 (Decker Exhibit 5323).

25. Copy of FBI Report, 11-23-63.

26. Dallas Police Radio Tapes for 11-22-63.

27. Copy of Texas Passenger Car License Receipt (Refer to 17,

H, 886).

28. Copy of Texas Passenger Car License Receipt from Texas

Highway Department.

29. Inquiry by Gary Shaw.

30. Interviews of former employees of Downtown Lincoln-

Mercury by Penn Jones, Gary Shaw and Larry Harris.

31. Ibid.

32. Ibid.

33. Refer to Commission Exhibits 2970, 3080, 3093.

34. 24, H, 292.

35. Ibid., p. 293.

36. Ibid.

37. Garrison, Jim - Heritage of Stone, p. 117.

38. Ibid.

39. Ibid.

40. Ibid., p. 118-119.

41. Ibid., p. 128.

42. Ibid.

43. Ibid., p. 121-122.

44. Fammonde, Paris - The Kennedy Conspiracy, p.40

45. Interview conducted by Penn Jones and Gary Shaw.

COVER-UP

These are three more photographs

taken by Wilma Bond. The Warren

Commission said there was

no evidence to suggest that shots

were fired from the front of the

motorcade—but failed to explain

why 2/3 of the witnesses heard shots

from the knoll, and why police

and spectators ran to the area behind

the picket fence.

The monumental record of the President's

Commission will stand like a Gibraltar of

factual literature through the ages to come.

—Gerald Ford [1965]

The Warren Report is like a house of cards.

It's going to collapse.

—Sen. Richard Schweiker [1975]

CHAPTER FIVE

UNFOLLOWED LEADS

The failure of federal and local law enforcement

agencies, as well as the Warren Commission and its

staff, to follow up every lead continues to baffle,

amaze and anger everyone interested in knowing

the truth about the assassination of President

Kennedy. Every lead (especially the early ones), no

matter how tenuous, should have been pursued

until every question was resolved and each lead

exhausted.

Within the 18,000 pages of testimony, af-

fidavits and FBI reports comprising the 26

volumes of Commission Hearings are hundreds of

potential leads which were never followed. That

some of the more obvious—and ominous—were

ignored is indicative of the apathy of federal

authorities in conducting their quasi-investigation.

The task of completing the Commission's

unfinished job has befallen a band of private

citizens. From all walks of life, these men and

women have voluntarily devoted an unestimable

amount of time and effort into researching the JFK

murder. Despite opposition and condemnation by

government officials, and the contempt and

castigation of most of the mass media, these

amateur detectives and self-appointed in-

vestigators continue to probe, seek out witnesses

and pore through the 26 volumes—determined to

learn the truth about the Kennedy regicide.

In each of the previous chapters, we have

examined a number of events which constitute

unfollowed leads. Here we point out several of the

more important and obvious leads never pursued

by the proper authorities. These represent only a

few of the many, many instances in which the

Commission, the FBI and others turned their backs

on significant or potentially important information.

"Secret Service Agents" in Dealey Plaza Following

the Shooting

In the hectic moments after the assassination,

law enforcement personnel directed their attention

first toward the parking lot behind the wooden

fence atop the knoll, and then toward the Texas

School Book Depository. Among the personnel

were men bearing Secret Service credentials and/or

professing to be with the Secret Service.

At the rear door of the Book Depository,

Dallas policemen D. V. Harkness spoke with men

he described as Secret Service agents. It would be

interesting to know how Harkness was certain they

were with the Secret Service, because he testified

that they showed no identification.1Rather than

demanding to see their credentials, Harkness took

their spoken word, thereby lending credence to

charges of ineptness and inefficiency on the part of

the Dallas Police.

Patrolman Joe M. Smith ran to the parking lot

behind the wooden fence after being told by a

woman, "They are shooting the President from the

bushes!" Smith, who said that he smelled gun-

powder in the area behind the fence, told the

Commission:

Of course, I wasn't alone. There was some

deputy sheriff with me, and I believe one

99 COVER-UP

Secret Service man when I got there.

I got to make this statement, too. I felt

awfully silly, but after the shot and this

woman, I pulled my pistol from my holster,

and I thought, this is silly, I don't know who

I am looking for, and I put it back. Just as I

did, he showed me that he was a Secret

Service agent.

Mr. Liebeler. Did you accost this man?

Mr. Smith. Well he saw me coming with

my pistol and right away he showed me who

he was.

Mr. Liebeler. Do you remember who it

was?

Mr. Smith. No sir; I don't—because then

we started checking the cars.*2

Deputy Constable Seymour Weitzman also rar.

to the area behind the fence and encountered a man

or men he thought to be with the Secret Service:

Mr. Ball. Were there other people there

besides you?

Mr. Weitzman. Yes sir; other officers,

Secret Service as well, and somebody

started, there was something red in the street

and I went back over the wall and somebody

brought me a piece of what he thought to be a

firecracker and it turned out to be, I believe,

I wouldn't quote this, but I turned it over to

one of the Secret Service men and I told them

it should go to the lab because it looked to me

like human bone. I later found out it was

supposedly a portion of the President's

skull.3

(Whether or not this particular piece of skull

was received by proper authorities has never been

definitely established .)**

The author was told by Deputy Sheriff Roger

Craig that on the front steps of the Book

Depository he observed and gave information to a

man claiming to be an agent of the Secret Service.4

• In 1975 the author learned of a report that a Dallas

policeman, (apparently Joe Smith) encountered a man fleeing

with a rifle in the railroad yard moments after the

assassination. There are indications that the officer may have

fired a warning shot into the air, but in any event, had his pistol

drawn and ordered the running man to halt. According to the

report the man with the rifle stopped, dropped the weapon,

raised his hands and offered to identify himself, at which time

he showed what appeared to be official Secret Service

credentials. This report is presently unconfirmed but the source

is considered most reliable.

** Still classified in the National Archives is CD 1269 entitled,

"Location of Photos of a Bone Specimen."

The significance of the last few paragraphs

may seem unclear to persons not familiar with the

events following the ambush in Dealey Plaza. Most

will rightfully reason that Secret Service personnel

would be expected to be present at the scene of a

Presidential assassination. However, the Warren

Report tells us that there were no Secret Service

personnel in Dealey Plaza in the moments following

the shooting:

"Other Secret Service agents assigned to

the motorcade remained at their posts during

the race to the hospital. None stayed at the

scene of the shooting, and none entered the

Texas School Book Depository Building at or

immediately after the shooting.* Secret

Service procedure requires that each agent

stay with the person being protected and not

be diverted unless it is necessary to ac-

complish the protective assignment."5

Who were these men using what must have

been false Secret Service credentials? Were the

assassins supplied with false identification to

insure that no one would question their being in an

area from which shots had obviously been fired,

and being there so soon after the shots? Or were

true Secret Service representatives, not a part of

the Presidential party, in Dallas as accomplices to

the shooting of JFK? There is no indication that

the Commission bothered to seek an explanation to

reports of Secret Service agents where no Secret

Service agents could be.

Dallas Police Car #207

One of the most mysterious incidents of

November 22, 1963 was related by Mrs. Earlene

Roberts, landlady of the rooming house where

Oswald lived at 1026 N. Beckley in the Oak Cliff

section of Dallas. She told the FBI and Warren

Commission counsel that at about 1:00 p.m., 30

minutes after the assassination, Oswald rushed

into his room, got a jacket and left. She last saw

him standing near the bus stop a short distance up

the street.

According to Mrs. Roberts, while Oswald was

still in his room, two uniformed officers in Dallas

Police vehicle #207 stopped directly in front of the

boarding house, honked the horn twice and drove

away toward Zangs Boulevard.6She did not

recognize the two policemen, although she was

acquainted with two members of the force—an

Officer Alexander and a Charles Burnley—who

* Emphasis added.

Unfollowed Leads 100

In the background of this picture, Assistant District Attorney

William Alexander [arrow] can be seen entering a Dallas Police

vehicle. Is it car #207?

sometimes came by in Car #170 to relay messages

to her from their wives.*

On November 22 Car #207 was operated by

patrolman Jimmy M. Valentine. According to him,

he had just taken a shoplifting suspect to the

Juvenile Bureau of the police department when he

received word of the Dealey Plaza shooting and was

dispatched to the assassination site; riding with

him was Sgt. Gerald Hill—an old acquaintance of

Jack Ruby. Upon reaching the plaza, Valentine

said, he parked his vehicle "at the curb" and

entered the School Book Depository, where he was

assigned to the fifth floor until 4:00 or 4:30 p.m.7

(according to police captain W. R. Westbrook, the

keys to Car #207 were given to Sgt. J. A. Putnam

and released to the new shift commander at 3:30

* Earlene Roberts was the victim of police harassment after she

gave her testimony to Commission counsel in Dallas. She died

of an apparent heart attack on January 9,1966.

p.m.. . Valentine said he did not drive the vehicle

that afternoon, but did he loan the keys to Sgt. Hill

or another member of the force? We do not know

because Valentine was not called as a witness

before the Commission.

Gerald Hill was a busy man on November 22.

He found the empty rifle cartridges on the TSBD

sixth floor; he was in the second squad car to arrive

at the Tippit murder site; and was at the Texas

Theatre to assist in apprehending Oswald.8 In the

course of his duties that afternoon, did Hill at any

time drive the vehicle assigned to Valentine, Car

#207? -7

Riding with Hill that afternoon was an equally p4-

industrious fellow, William Alexander, the then- 4440/g/Pa

Assistant District Attorney of Dallas. He was in

and around Dealey Plaza and the Book Depository

shortly after the assassination; he accompanied

Hill to the Tippit murder scene and from there to

the Texas Theatre.9 If it seems odd that an

assistant District Attorney would be playing cop at

101

COVER-UP

such a time, it is even more unusual that he would

be armed and waiting with a group of policemen in

the alley behind the theatre.

Like his buddy Hill, Alexander was an old and

close friend of Jack Ruby.10He was also a selfavowed

right-wing extremist.* He liked to boast of

the number of men he had sent to the electric chair,

and told associates that he had never met a man

who didn't deserve to be hanged. He is alleged to

have threatened to kill a man in the courthouse by

jamming a pistol to the man's head and saying,

"You son of a b---h, I will kill you •right here."13

Bill Alexander: Right-wing Assistant D. A. and, on November

22, part-time cop.

Hill in Fritz's offire — the "Mr. Everywhere" Dallas Policeman

There probably would have been no hesitation

in shooting down a dirty cop-killer and, with no

witnesses in that alley behind the theatre, the

patsy could have been executed on the spot as he

panicked and fled out the rear exit of the movie

L.house.

* Asked by newsmen on November 22 if he could tell them

anything about suspect Lee Oswald, Alexander snapped, "Yes,

he is a G d Communist."11Later that day he was

zealously preparing to charge the prisoner with killing the

President "as part of an international Communist conspiracy."

12Alexander later resigned under pressure after

suggesting on national television that Chief Justice Earl

Warren be hanged because of his liberal views and Supreme

Court decisions.

Cause for suspicion: Sgt. Gerald Hill, Dallas Police.

It would also be interesting to know if William

Alexander and Earlene Roberts' "Officer

Alexander" are one and the same. We know only

that Valentine parked his vehicle at Elm and

Houston and that it was in front of the Book

Depository. A photograph taken shortly before

1:00 p.m.* shows Alexander entering a police

vehicle parked at Elm and Houston, in front of the

Book Depository. Gerald Hill himself said that he,

Alexander and a reporter for the Dallas Morning

News drove to the Tippit murder site via North

Beckely —the street on which Oswald's rooming

house was located.14Were the dubious duo of

Hill** and Alexander occupying Dallas Police Car

#207?

* Determined by photo expert Richard Sprague.

** The reader is referred to George O'Toole's study, The

Assassination Tapes (An Electronic Probe Into the Murder of

John F. Kennedy and the Dallas Coverup). Using the

Psychological Stress Evaluator, former CIA man O'Toole

concludes thiit Hill, Paul Bentley and other members of the

Dallas Police force have been less than truthful in taped interviews

pertaining to the assassination and the arrest of

Oswald. Hill apparently has lied in his accounts about the

discovery of the rifle hulls in the TSBD, the Texas Department

of Public Safety's dossier on the alleged assassin, and the

polygraph test administered to Buell Wesley Frazier on

November 22-23, 1963. O'Toole's book suggests the strong

probability that Dallas Policemen assisted in framing Oswald

for the Kennedy and Tippit murders; that conclusion seems

likely, when one considers that no less than the Assistant Chief

of Police was recruited to personally escort Jack Ruby into the

Dallas Police station basement to kill Oswald. It isn't as improbable

as it might sound. O'Toole writes: "The frame-up

formula is much simpler than might be imagined . . . recruit

some police, not the entire department, just a few key officers

who are in a position to fabricate a chain of evidence linking the

scapegoat to the crime, officers in the crime scene search unit,

the crime lab, and perhaps a polygraph examiner to confirm the

truthfulness of witnesses against the fall guy and irnpune the

word of those who might exonerate him." (From The

Assassination Tapes by George O'Toole; Penthouse Press. Ltd.,

New York).

Unfollowed Leads 102

The Forgetful Flatfoot

Another related fact is that Earlene Roberts'

sister was Bertha Cheek, a Dallas real estate

woman who had been approached with a business

proposition by Jack Ruby. A policeman named

Olson who rented an apartment from Mrs. Cheek

advised her that Ruby was a good businessman.15

The only "Olson" on the 1963 police roster was

Harry N. Olsen. He is an interesting character.

Olsen was a close friend of Ruby, spent three hours

with him the evening of November 22, married one

of Ruby's strippers (Kay Coleman) and left Dallas

for California less than a month after the

assassination.16

On November 22 Olsen was off-duty and

working an "extra job" guarding an estate in Oak

Cliff. When he testified before the Commission,

this forgetful flatfoot said he could not remember

the address of the estate, the name of the estate's

resident or the name of the fellow-policeman who

got him the job. His testimony on the location of

the estate is conflicting.

Stolen License Plates - Tools of the Trade

It is a well-known fact that tools of a crime

often involve the use of a stolen vehicle and/or

stolen license plates. At least three incidents

involving automobiles in the vicinity of the JFK

assassination and the Tippit murder site were

reported to authorities . on November 22. Each of

these reports indicate that the cars were using

stolen license plates. Authorities thought these

incidents not unusual and initiated no further

investigation.

Stolen Plate At the Tippit Scene

The first incident involved a radio trans-

mission from the Dallas County Sheriff's office at

2:33 p.m., two hours after the assassination,

issuing a pick-up order for a 1957 Chevrolet sedan

bearing license number NA 4445 for investigation

of carrying a concealed weapon.17The car had last

been seen in the vicinity of Tenth and Jefferson in

As well as can be determined from his

statements, Olsen was on Eighth Street five or six

blocks from R. L. Thornton Expressway. The

Eighth Street location is important because it was

in patrolman J. D. Tippit's patrol area and Tippit's

last radio transmission was from Eighth and

Lancaster; Commission counsel Arlen Specter

failed to ask Olsen if he had seen his fellow-

policeman that afternoon. From the deduced

location, the elevation is such that Olsen could

have seen Oswald on any one of five streets* if the

alleged assassin traveled as the Commission said he

did. Again, Olsen was not asked if he had seen

Oswald or a man resembling him.

The testimony of Harry Olsen reflects a

nervous man who is unsure of the answers he gives;

his is the testimony of a man who may be trying to

hide something. Olsen's. background and activitiy

on November 22 should have been thoroughly

scrutinized by the Commission and its in-

vestigative agencies.**

* Patton, Denver, Lake Cliff, Starr and Lansing Streets.

** CD 147—The Long Distance Telephone calls of Harry

Olsen—remains classified and away from public view in the

National Archives. Who was he calling that required such

secrecy?

Dispatcher (P.'JLSE and MC DANIEL) Attention all squads in Oa Oak Cliff

area - pick up for investigation

of a CCW (carrying a conco.lcd

wo‹,in), the occupants of a L:57

Chevrolet sedan bearing Licen:a

CONWASSION EXHIBIT No. 1974

the Oak Cliff section of Dallas (Tippit was slain at

Tenth and Patton). The car bearing this license

number was registered to Cecil U. Petty of Dallas;

he was never investigated by proper authorities.

An interview of Petty by the author revealed that

Petty sold the car to Walter Wilson Motors located

at Ross and Olive in Dallas, prior to September,

1963. A check of 1963 Texas License receipts

revealed that License number NA4445 was replaced

by a new tag on September 17, 1963, two months

before the assassination. This is an indication that

License number NA4445 was stolen prior to the

assassination and used on an automobile involved

in the Tippit murder. It is interesting to note that

the car in the photograph of General Walker's

house—the photo in which the car's license plate

was obliterated—is a 1957 Chevrolet. Walker had

close ties to anti-Castro Cuban exiles, having been

retained by the CIA to train exiles for an invasion

of Cuba after the Bay of Pigs fiasco.18

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Stolen Plate From Georgia

A second radio transmission between 1:54

p.m. and 2:11 p.m. on November 22 advised that

someone reported that a 1963 red Chevrolet Impala,

which had been parked for three or four days

near Harry Hines Circle in Dallas, had just left that

location traveling north on Harry Hines at a high

Carrollton PD called Public service

and said somec.7.6 had reported a 1963

Ch.:.v Impala, bearing Georgia license

52J1033 had been pared for 3 or 4

days near HazTy Hines circle reported

1' ozation traveling North

cn Harry Hines at high rate of speed,

FL,d, '63 Chev. Impala. All we have at

this time.

COMMISSION EXIIIBIT 705

rate of speed.19 It so happens that the license

plates on this particular car—Georgia License

#52J1033—were registered to J. C. Bradley of Twin

City, Georgia for a 1960 four door Chevrolet. In

May 1964 Bradley told the FBI that these license

plates had been stolen in September, 1963 —two

months before the assassination.20

Significant in itself, this incident becomes

even more so when one finds that a red convertible

with Florida license plates was seen enroute to

Oklahoma from Florida prior to the assassination.

An identical auto had been used in a Maimi parade

by the Fair Play For Cuba Committee and was

stoned by a group of anti-Castro Cubans.21 It

should be noted that a car going from Florida to

L Oklahoma would probably go through Georgia.

A man strongly resembling Lee Harvey

Oswald was seen in Sulpher, Oklahoma five days

before the assassination; with him was Manuel

Rodriguez, known as being violently anti-Kennedy

and anti-Castro.22 He was president of the Dallas

unit of an anti-Castro group which conducted biweekly

meetings at 3126 Harlendale in Dallas. This

group, whose goal was the ousting of Castro, called

itself the Second National Front of the Escambrey

— Operation Alpha 66—People's

Revolutionary Movement (SNFE-Alpha 66-PRM).

On November 22 Deputy Sheriff Buddy Walthers

submitted a report stating that Oswald had attended

meetings at the Harlendale address.23 The

Cubans staying there evacuated the premises

sometime between November 15 and November 23,

1963.24

This takes on even more significance when one

finds that on November 21, 1963 one of the

members of the Alpha 66 group was heard making

these remarks: "We now have plenty of money—

our new backers are Jews—as soon as we (or they)

take care of Kennedy. . . ."25

"Borrowed" License Plate?

The third report is that of a witness who saw a

red car on the parking lot of a restaurant at 110 W.

Davis in Oak Cliff, several blocks from Oswald's

Beckley Street rooming house. The witness said he

saw a man he identified as Oswald sitting in the

car, which he later stated was a 1961 red Ford

Falcon. "Oswald" sat in the car for sometime

before suddenly leaving and proceeding west on

Davis Street at a high rate of speed. The witness

wrote down the license number: Texas PP4537; a

license check revealed that the car was registered to

Carl A. Mather of Dallas. When the FBI finally

checked for itself on December 14, it found that

License #PP4537 was on a light blue over medium

blue 1957 Plymouth. Mather was a close friend of

the J. D. Tippit family and was in the Tippit home

the afternoon of the policeman's murder.26

NE 440

••• 466

TEXAS ht,:.: nWAY DEPART PoENT

—

Unfollowed Leads

106

Photographs of mystery man taken outside the Soviet Em-

bassy in Mexico City, September, 1963. According to the CIA

this man identified himself as Lee Oswald. Obviously it is not

The Mexico "Oswald"

In late September, 1963 Lee Harvey Oswald

journeyed by bus to Mexico City, apparently

seeking a visa for travel to Cuba.36He is known to

have visited the Cuban and Soviet Embassies, both

of which were under constant CIA photographic

surveillance. On October 1, 1963, as always,

photographs were secretly taken of everyone en-

tering and exiting the Russian Embassy. Ten days

later the CIA forwarded the following teletype

message to the Washington offices of the FBI, the

Navy and the State Department:

1. On 1 October 1963 a reliable and

sensitive source in Mexico reported that an

American male, who identified himself as Lee

Oswald, * contacted the Soviet Embassy

in Mexico City inquiring whether the Em-

bassy had received any news concerning a

telegram which had been sent to

Washington. The American was described as

approximately 35 years old, with an athletic

build, about six feet tall, with a receding

hairline.

2. It is believed that Oswald may be

identical to Lee Henry Oswald, born on 18

October, 1939 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A

former Marine who defected to the Soviet

Union in October 1959 and later made

arrangement through the United States

Embassy in Moscow to return to the United

* Emphasis added.

the man who would later be accused of killing President

Kennedy. Intelligence and law enforcement officials identify the

subject as a known killer for hire.

States with his Russian-born wife, Marina

Nikolaevna Pusakova (sic), and their child.

3. The information in paragraph one is

being disseminated to your representatives

in Mexico City. Any further information

received on this subject will be furnished

you. This information is being made

available to the Immigration and

Naturalization Service.37

The physical description of the man-35 years

old, six feet tall, athletic build—in no way matched

Oswald, who was 23 years old, 5' 9" and had a

slender build.

The Agency apparently noticed the

discrepancy and two weeks later asked the Navy to

immediately send its two most recent photographs

of the young defector so it could forward the pic-

tures to Mexico City for comparison with the

photos taken of the man at the Embassy. The day

of the assassination the CIA sent pictures of the

Mexico "Oswald" to the FBI, and it was very

obvious that the man in question, whoever he

might be, was not Lee Harvey Oswald. Authorities

were concerned enough about the mystery man to

show his photo to Oswald's mother on November

23; she told them she had never seen the man

before.38

The CIA admitted there had been a "mix-up"

but that was its last word on the photograph that

became CE 237,39It never submitted the real

pictures of the real Oswald—if there were such

photos—nor did it ever identify the man claiming

to be Oswald.

Unfollowed Leads 108

Bay of Pigs, and some Cubans should have done

that. And he said, 'It is so easy to do it.'" The

Latin added that Oswald was a former Marine and

an excellent shot.47

The September 25 and 26 incidents involving

an "Oswald" in Austin, Houston and Dallas could

not have been the real Oswald. At that time, ac-

cording to the Warren Commission, he was on a

bus going to Mexico City.48Who, then, was using

his name?

Because Mrs. Odio was such a credible wit-

ness, the Commission asked the FBI to follow up

on her report. In a September 21, 1964 letter to

Commission counsel J. Lee Rankin—three days

before the Warren Report was handed to President

Johnson—J. Edgar Hoover passed along this

information regarding the Odio story:

"On September 16, 1964, we located one

Loran Eugene Hall at Johnsondale,

California. Hall has been identified as a

participant in numerous anti-Castro ac-

tivities. He advised that in September, 1963,

he was at Dallas, Texas, soliciting aid in

connection with an anti-Castro cause. He

recalled meeting a Cuban woman, Mrs. Odio,

Loran Eugene Hall

who lived in a garden-type apartment at 1080

Magellan Circle, Dallas, Texas. He said that

at the time of his visit he was accompanied

by Lawrence Howard, a Mexican-American

from East Los Angeles and William Seymour

from Arizona. He denied that Lee Harvey

Oswald was with him during his visit to Mrs.

Odio's apartment in September, 1963.

"Hall stated that William Seymour is

similar in appearance to Lee Harvey Oswald

and that Seymour speaks only a few words of

Spanish. In connection with the revelations

of Hall, you will note that the name Loran

Hall bears some resemblance to the name

Leon Oswald."49

With that, the Commission hastily concluded

that Mrs. Odio was mistaken, and let the matter

drop.

Unbeknownst to the Commission, however,

that conclusion had been shattered six days before

the Report was released, when Hall, admitting that

he had never met Sylvia Odio, retracted the story

he had told the FBI.*

Bear in mind that the letter from J. Edgar

Hoover was dated and carried to the Commission

on the 21st day of September, 1964. Yet on Sep-

tember 20, 1964, the day before Hoover's let-

ter was prepared, the FBI had in its posses-

sion a later report wherein Loran Hall stated

unequivocally that he had had no contact with Mrs.

Sylvia Odio.54In addition, William Seymour, one

of the men mentioned in the Hoover letter of the

21st as having been with Hall in Dallas, stated to

the FBI that Sylvia Odio was unknown to him.

This statement was made to the FBI on September

18, 1964.55

Also, on September 21st, the FBI had in its

possession a statement, dated the day before, from

Lawrence John Howard, the third member of the

Hall group, stating that he had had no contact with

a Cuban woman named Odio at an apartment in

Dallas when he accompanied Hall and Seymour to

Dallas in September, 1963.56

Thus, the Director of the FBI deliberately

* Loran Eugene Hall later became a key figure in DA Jim

Garrison's investigation, after Hall said he had attended

meetings in California at which the murder of President

Kennedy was discussed.50Expelled from Cuba in 1959 after

fighting alongside Castro during the overthrow of the Batista

regime, Hall became involved in anti-Castro activity in the U.

S.51By 1975 at least one former-CIA operative and several

researchers had named Hall as one of the gunmen firing at

President Kennedy in Dealey Plaza.52Reportedly, on July 11,

1975, he fled the United States—first to Mexico, then

Rhodesia—after becoming alarmed of reports linking him to the

actual shooting of JFK. 53

COVER-UP109

William Seymour: an Oswald impersonator? Lawrence J. Howard

omitted these statements from his false report to

the Commission on September 21.

After Hoover's letter of the 21st containing the

false information was submitted to the Com-

mission, he had six days before the Commission

made its report on the 27th in which to make the

correction. This he chose not to do. He chose in-

stead to quietly slip the refuting document into the

National Archives under the date of October 2,

1964, which was some five days after the Com-

mission report had been released under full

coverage from all the news media of the United

States. The October 2 document refuting the key

testimony lay quietly unnoticed in the National

Archives.

More "Oswalds"

On October 4, after Oswald had returned from

Mexico, the manager of radio station KPOY in

Alice, Texas said Oswald filled out an application

for employment. This Oswald was accompanied by

his wife and a child and drove a beat-up 1953

automobile.57The problem here is that Lee Harvey

Oswald did not know how to drive an automobile.58

Three weeks before the assassination, ap-

pearances by "Oswald" began to increase. On the

6th or 7th of November an Oswald entered a fur-

niture store in Irving looking for a "plunger" (a

firing pin) for a rifle; a gun dealer had once occupied

the location of the furniture store. The young man,

then went to his car, got his wife and two infants,

and began looking at furniture. The store owners

later identified the couple as Lee and Marina

Oswald. The "Oswalds" left after asking the man

for directions to another gun shop.59

The day after the assassination a clerk at the

Irving Sports Shop went through his receipts and

found a ticket with the name "Oswald" on it. This

Oswald had three holes drilled in a rifle so he could

mount a telescopic sight. He was not the real

Oswald, we are told, because his Mannlicher-

Carcano had only two holes and they had already

been drilled when he received the gun by mail.66

There is no evidence that he owned a second rifle. A

check by the FBI of all persons in the Dallas-Fort

Worth area named Oswald revealed that none had

recently had work done on a gun.

On November 8 a man came to an Irving

grocery store wanting to cash a check for $189.00,

payable to "Harvey Oswald."61That same day a

JACKSON ST

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COMMERCE ST,

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ANNEX COURTHO E

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IN 1963)

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BLDG.

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LINCOLN -

MERCURY

Unfollowed Leads

110

barber up the street from this same grocery store

saw a man he thought was Oswald accompanied by

a 14-year old boy; both sat in the barber shop and

made leftist remarks.62

The next day a man entered the showroom of

Downtown Lincoln-Mercury,* introduced himself

as Lee Oswald and told salesman Albert Bogard

that he wanted to buy a used car.

With Bogard as his passenger, "Oswald" test

drove a car on Stemmons Freeway, hitting speeds

over 75 miles per hour. Upon returning to the

showroom "Oswald" told Bogard he did not have

enough money for a down payment but said he

would be coming into "a lot of money in the next

two or three weeks." He told the credit manager

that if financing could not be arranged he might

"go back to Russia where they treat workers like

* This is the car dealership at which suspect Jack Lawrence

(previous chapter) was employed during his brief stay in Dallas.

men. "63

Again the Warren Commission tells us that

this was not the real Oswald. As stated earlier, the

real Oswald did not drive, and on this date the

Commission placed him in Irving writing a letter to

the Soviet Embassy in Washington.65Yet Bogard*

passed a lie detector test about the indicent and his

co-workers corroborated his story.86

That night and subsequent nights several

persons reported seeing Oswald practicing with a

rifle at Dallas' Sports Drome Range and at a rifle

range in Irving. Unlike his true counterpart, this

Oswald was an excellent shot, and he was loud and

obnoxious. He attracted attention to himself by

shooting at other firers' targets and by using

unusual types of weapons, including one that

issued a ball of flame each time it was fired.68

* Bogard, 41, was found dead in his car in a Hallsville,

Louisiana cemetery on February 14, 1966. A hose had been

connected to the exhaust and the other end inside the car with

windows up; the ruling was suicide.67

Downtown Lincoln Mercury, where Albert Bogard encountered

a man posing as Oswald, is located a short distance west of

Dealey Plaza. Between the two is Stemmons Freeway—where

Bogard and "Oswald" took a car for a test drive. Downtown

Lincoln Mercury, which supplied some of the cars for the fateful

Presidential motorcade, is where suspect Jack Lawrence was

employed fora month.It will be recalled that 30 minutes after the

assassination Lawrence, muddy and sweating profusely, came

running into the dealership and was overcome by nausea. His

abandoned vehicle was later found parked behind the wooden

fence on the grassy knoll. That afternoon an abandoned

overcoat was found near Industrial Boulevard between the auto

agency and the assassination site.

111

COVER-UP

On October 6 Mrs. Lovell Penn, a school

teacher who lived on a farm near Cedar Hill, Texas

(15 miles south of Dallas), heard someone firing a

high-caliber weapon in her pasture. She observed

three men in the pasture, and fearing they might

shoot her cattle, went out to speak with them.

She asked one of the men if they had per-

mission to hunt or shoot on her property; the man

asked her why she had to ask such a question. Mrs.

Penn expressed her concern for the safety of her

cattle and the man with the rifle—she said it was

Lee Oswald—became angry and made several

nasty remarks; he was told by one of his com-

panions to keep quiet. The men left after she

threatened to call the police.69

The teacher seemed certain that Oswald was

the man with the rifle, and she said that one of the

men was Latin or Cuban. Mrs. Penn related that

they were driving a 1957 black and white

Chevrolet. As we have seen earlier in this chapter, a

1957 Chevrolet may figure prominently in events

leading up to the assassination of President

Kennedy. She reported the license number to the

Sheriff's department and was subsequently told by

a member of that agency that it had been linked

with Lee Harvey Oswald."

Mrs. Penn later turned over to the FBI a

6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano cartridge case. The

Bureau determined that it could not have been fired

from the Oswald rifle.71

Two days before the assassination, three men

spoke to Wayne January, manager of Dallas' Red

Bird Airport, about renting a plane to fly to the

Yucatan Peninsula on the afternoon of November

22. January told the FBI that he spoke to two of

the men while the third—whom he believed was

Oswald— remained in the trio's automobile.

January refused to rent them a plane, suspecting

they might hijack it to Cuba." As noted in the

previous chapter, a private plane with engines

running was seized by federal authorities on

November 22 and placed in a hangar with tight

security.

In addition to these, in 1975 the authors of this

book discovered a man who encountered still

another Oswald the week of the assassination. The

man, W. M. Hannie of Cleburne, Texas, never told

his story to local or federal authorities.

Hannie, now 73, was an ironworker in 1963,

working in Santa Fe, New Mexico. On November

18 he was in Juarez, Mexico, preparing to go to

Fort Worth to undergo medical treatment for an

on-the-job injury. A bartender asked Hannie if he

would mind giving a ride to a young man named

Oswald. Hannie agreed, providing the man would

drive, since Hannie was using medication.

Enroute to Fort Worth, "Oswald" told Hannie

that he had been in Mexico City to "straighten up

some business with the government" concerning

his discharge from the Marines. "Oswald" spoke at

length about his two children, said he had to find a

better job in order to support them and remarked

that he wanted to leave Dallas because his wife was

having an affair with a policeman. He told Hannie

that he wasn't making enough money at "the book

company" and that he was tired of cleaning "Jack

Ruby's honky-tonk." Hannie told us "Oswald"

used the telephone at almost every stop they made.

Arriving in Fort Worth early Wednesday

morning, November 20, "Oswald" asked to be

dropped off at a theatre on Camp Bowie Boulevard,

saying that his mother lived only a couple of blocks

away. (At this time Mrs. Marguerite Oswald,

mother of the accused assassin, lived on Thomas

Place a short distance from the Theatre.)

Two days later Hannie was in St. Joseph

Hospital, watching the events in Dallas unfold on

television when he saw the man charged with

murdering John F. Kennedy. He was the same man

Hannie had driven with from Juarez, Mexico."

Oswald's time records at the Texas School

Book Depository show that he was not absent that

week (or at any time during his brief period of

employment there) and we feel that the man

Hannie encountered could not have been the real

Oswald. Yet whoever he was, the man knew

certain details of the patsy's life that few persons

could know: his Marine discharge; his doting

fondness for his children; his employment at a

"book company" and the location of Marguerite

Oswald's home.

About two weeks before the assassination a

man who looked exactly like Oswald inquired about

a job as a parking attendant at the Southland Hotel

Garage (Allright Parking Systems) on Commerce

Street, less than a block from Jack Ruby's Carousel

Club. Hubert Morrow, the day manager, wrote the

man's name on a piece of paper, recording it as

"Lee Harvey Osborn"; the individual quickly

corrected him by saying, "No, my name is

Oswald."

According to Morrow, "Oswald" asked how

tall the building was and if it had a good view of

Dallas.74

Who was the man or men encountered by

Morrow, Hannie and others?

The incidents were written off by the Corn-

mission as cases of mistaken identity, even though

Unfollowed Leads 112

most of the witnesses were found to be credible and

with no reason to lie. Couple these incidents with

the fake photographs of the accused assassin

holding the alleged murder weapon (chapter 2), and

it becomes quite clear that someone was at-

tempting to set Oswald up for the crime of the

century. The impersonator(s) left the image of a

man who was loud and arrogant; had been to

Russia; would soon come into a large sum of money

and who displayed expert marksmanship while

practicing at local rifle ranges. In short, he or they

left the image of a man who, after the

assassination, would be recalled by those who had

been in contact with him as a man who could and

would murder the President of the United States]

Witnesses Topple - Business As Usual

In the ten-month period (January-September

1964) between the initiation of the Warren Com-

mission's investigation and the issuance of its final

report, eight persons directly or indirectly con-

nected with the events of November 22, died. Still

another was the victim of attempted murder but

survived a bullet in the head. Seven of the eight

deaths were unnatural: three shootings, one karate

chop, one suicide by hanging, another by a self-

inflicted gunshot wound and one cut throat.

Warren Reynolds

The case of Warren Reynolds, who survived a

gunshot wound in the head, was brought to the

attention of the Commission by critic Mark Lane.

Reynolds was a witness in the Tippit shooting; he

had followed the policeman's killer for one block

and was unable to identify the fleeing man as Lee

Oswald. On January 23, 1964, two days after he

was interviewed by the FBI, Reynolds was shot

through the head with a rifle in the basement of the

used car lot office where he worked; he was not

robbed of money or possessions, and the unknown

assailant escaped.75

The prime suspect in the attack, Darrell

Wayne Garner, was released after an alibi was

provided by Betty Mooney MacDonald (aka Nancy

Mooney), a former stripper for Jack Ruby. One

week after springing Garner, Miss MacDonald was

arrested for fighting with her roommate. She was

placed alone in a cell and two hours later, according

to the Dallas Police, Miss MacDonald hanged

herself to death with her toreador pants.76 The

police failed to inform the Warren Commission

and/or the FBI about the Reynolds-Garner-

MacDonald episode.

As for Reynolds, he miraculously recovered

from the wound in his temple and testified before

the Commission six months after the attempt on

his life, stating that he believed there was a con-

nection between the attack on him and the fact that

he was a witness to the flight of Tippit's killer .77

Whereas in January, 1964 he had told the FBI that

he could not identify the fleeing suspect as Oswald,

Reynolds in July, 1964 was able to state rather

readily that Oswald, after all, was the man he had

seen fleeing.*

Utilizing its typical dishonest means, the

Commission seized on the opportunity and stated

very matter-of-factly: "Reynolds did not make a

positive identification when interviewed by the

FBI, but he subsequently testified before a

Commission staff member and, when shown two

photographs of Oswald, stated that they were

photographs of the man he saw."82In reporting

this change of heart the Commission did not

mention Reynolds' brush with death until nearly

500 pages later. Nor did they mention that after

January 23, 1964, Reynolds was a terrified man

who feared for himself and his family.

Others, less fortunate that Reynolds, who died

during the tenure of the Commission were:

Edward Beneuides, brother of Domingo

Benevides who was a witness to the Tippit

murder and gave a description of the killer

that in no way matched Lee Oswald. Edward

was shot to death in a bar three months after

the assassination in what Domingo and his

* Prior to testifying to the Commission, Reynolds consulted

with General Walker, who befriended the young car salesman

after he was shot at.78It is interesting that this pair—both

targets of snipers' attempts—became such good friends after

the assassination. On the evening of April 10, 1963, Walker was

sitting at a desk in his Dallas home when someone fired a shot

through a window, barely missing the general's head. The

shooting remained unsolved until December of that year, when

recently-deceased Lee Harvey Oswald became a convenient

scapegoat for the incident. The Commission subsequently

decided that by trying to kill Walker, Oswald was "demon-

strating once again his propensity to act dramatically and, in

this instance violently, in furtherance of his beliefs."79

On April 11, 1963 it was apparent that the bullet recovered

from Walker's wall came from a 30.06 rifle.80By the time the

Warren Report was issued, though, the bullet had made the

transformation into a 6.5 caliber bullet from a weapon like that

allegedly owned by Oswald.81

(504-Cr

113

COVER-UP

father-in-law both believe was a case of

mistaken identity. Afterward Domingo, like

Warren Reynolds, decided that he had in fact

seen Oswald fleeing the Tippit murder site.83

Hank Killam, whose wife worked for Jack

Ruby, died of a cut throat in Pensacola,

Florida four months after the assassination.

Police said the death was suicide and the

coroner ruled accidental death; newspapers

said he had either jumped or fallen through a

plate glass window. Killam was also an

acquaintance of John Carter, who lived in the

same rooming house with Oswald and dated

one of Ruby's employees.84

Bill Hunter, 35, a California newspaper

reporter, was shot to death by a police officer

in the basement of the Long Beach,

California police station. Authorities ruled

the death accidental. Several hours after

Ruby shot Oswald, Hunter attended a

meeting with Ruby's roommate, George

Senator, in Ruby's apartment. Three men

who met with Senator that evening later

died.85

Jim Koethe, 30 a reporter for the Dallas

Times Herald, was found dead in his

apartment in September, 1964. The victim of

a karate chop to the throat, his murder

4045remains unsolved. Koethe also was present

at the meeting in Ruby's apartment on the

evening of November 24, 1963. At the time of

his death Koethe was working on a book

about the assassination; two notebooks

containing material for that book were

missing from his personal effects.86

Teresa Norton, a dancer at Ruby's

Carousel Club, was found shot to death in a

Dallas motel in August, 1964.87

Gary Underhill, 48, a one-time CIA

contract employee, was found shot to death

in Washington, D.C. on May 8, 1964. His

death was ruled a suicide but he was right-

handed and was shot through the head from

left to right. Shortly before he died Underhill

told friends that he knew the CIA was

responsible for the Kennedy assassination

and that he feared for his life.88

The Warren Commission did not investigate

any of these strange deaths, which continued to

occur long after the Commission disbanded.

By early 1967 no less than 18 material wit-

nesses—persons who could have been called to

testify had Oswald lived to stand trial—had

perished. Of the 18, five died of natural causes and

13 were the victims of accident, suicide or murder.

There were six murders, one manslaughter, two

suicides, three motor vehicle accidents and

Killam's fall through a plate glass window (ac-

cident, murder or suicide?) The unnatural causes

constitute 71.5 per cent of the tota1.89

An actuary engaged by the London Sunday

Times computed the life expectancy of 15 of the

deceased witnesses and concluded that on

November 22, 1963, the odds against all 15 being

dead by February, 1967, were one hundred

thousand trillion to one (100,000,000,000,000,000

to 1).90

Penn Jones, Jr., who first noticed and began

recording the untimely demise of witnesses, had

recorded more than 50 deaths by the end of 1975.91

The curse, it would seem, is not limited to the

Kennedys . . . .

Conclusion: The Warren Commission is Guilty of

Malfeasance

If the Commission and its staff bothered to

read the reports submitted by the FBI and other

investigative agencies, they knew that too many

strange things were happening before, during and

after the assassination. Reasonable men seeking a

truthful solution would easily recognize the signs of

an elaborate conspiracy at work: stolen license

plates near the scenes of the Kennedy and Tippit

murders; Secret Service agents appearing where no

Secret Service personnel could be; Lee Harvey

Oswald appearing where the real Oswald could not

be; the apparent impersonation of the patsy-to-be

by a killer-for-hire; possible links between Oswald,

the Dallas Police and the murder of JFK; the

demise of potential witnesses directly and in-

directly connected with the events of November 22,

1963.

The Commission's apathy in its solemn and

sacred duty to thoroughly and objectively in-

vestigate the murder of the President is inex-

cusable. The kindest thing that can be said about

the men who so blatantly shunned the respon-

sibility given them is that they are guilty of

malfeasance. History will someday judge them to

be the cowards and criminals that they are.

Unfollowed Leads 114

NOTES - CHAPTER FIVE

1. VI H 312. 48. Report, p. 412.

2. VII H 535. 49. XXVI H 834, 835.

3. Ibid, p. 107. 50. The National Tattler (Moulder - "These Men Killed Pres.

4. Interview of Roger Craig by Gary Shaw and Penn Jones. John Kennedy"), 7-13-75.

5. Report, p. 52. 51. Ibid.

6. VI H 443, 444. 52. Ibid.

7. CE 2249; VII H 45. 53. Ibid (Special issue), 9-75.

8. VII H 46, 54, 57; XVII H 442; XXI H 397; XXIII H 875, 54. CD 1553.

877. 55. Ibid.

9. Ibid. 56. Ibid.

10. Jones, Penn -Forgive My Grief II, p. 113. 57. Report, p. 666.

11. Ibid, Vol. I, p. 175. 58. Ibid.

12. Manchester, William -The Death of a President, p. 287. 59. XXII H 524, 534-36, 546-49.

13. Jones -op. cit. (Vol. I), pp. 96-97. 60. XXII H 525, 531; XI H 224-240, 245-253.

16. Aid, pp. 85-91. 61. XVI H 178, 179; X H 327.340.

17. XXIII H 888. 62. X H 309-327.

18. Authors' files (Letter to Penn Jones from Ronald 63. Ibid, p. 353.

Augustinovich). 64. XXVI H 685.

19. CD 1245, p. 185. 65. Report, p. 321.

20. Ibid, -. 186. 66. Ibid, p. 577.

21. Authors' files. 67. Jones -op. cit. (Vol. II), p. 37.

22. CD 1085u. 68. Report, pp. 318, 319.

23. XIX H 534. 69. CE 2944.

24. Ibid. 70. Interview of Mrs. Lovell Penn by Penn Jones, 6-26-75.

25. CE 2959. 71. CD 205, p. 182.

26. CD 205, pp. 373-375. 72. Popkin, Richard -The Second Oswald, p. 92.

27. VIII H 307. 73. Interview of W. M. Hannie by Gary Shaw and Larry.

28. Report, p. 609. Harris, 7-29-75.

29. CE 3099; XXVI H 715.

30. Report, p. 386; Coleman-Slawson memo to J. Lee Rankin. 74. CD 385, pp. 138-148.

31. CD 75. 75. Jones -op. cit. (Vol. II), pp. 3, 4.

32. Report, pp. 689-690; CE 1150. 76. Ibid, pp. 4-6.

33. Report, p. 240. 77. XI H 438, 439.

34. Ibid, pp. 393-394. 78. XI H 440, 441.

35. Ibid, p. 712. 79. Report, p. 412.

36. Ibid, p. 413. 80. Dallas Morning News, 4-11-63.

37. CD 631. 81. Report, p. 562.

38. Esquire magazine (article by Edward Epstein), 12.66. 82. Ibid, p. 171.

39. I H 151, 153. 83. Jones -op. cit. (Vol. II), -. 19.

40. U.S. News & World Report, 6-92-75. 84. Ibid, p. 2.

41. CD 244B. 85. Ibid (Vol. I), p. 6.

42. Rolling Stone, 4-24-75. 86. Ibid (Vol. II), pp. 8, 13.

43. XXIV H 729.734; Report, p. 386. 87. Meagher, Sylvia -Accessories After the Fact, p. 229.

44. Ibid. 88. Jones -op. cit. (Vol. II), pp. 298-302.

45. Ibid, p. 726; XXV H 4, 5. 89. Meagher -op. cit., pp. 298-302.

46. XI H 371. 90. Ibid, p. 302.

47. Ibid, p. 372. 91. Conversation with Penn Jones, 01-10-76.

115

COVER-UP

PUBLIC EXECUTION IN THE UNITED STATES

DALLAS, TEXAS-NOVEMBER 22, 1963

CHAPTER SIX

THE EXECUTION

116

The subtitle of this book is "The Govern-

mental Conspiracy to Conceal the Facts About the

Public Execution of John F. Kennedy." Perhaps

that sounds somewhat radical to most readers but

because of the manner in which President Kennedy

was slain and because of the nature of the force we

believe was responsible for his death, we feel the

assassination was, in effect, a public execution.

For many years governments believed that

public executions were necessary to achieve the

greatest retributive and deterrent effects, and these

executions and other forms of punishment were

devised as great public spectacles. Moral

arguments aside, the fact remains that capital

punishment, carried out in full view of the public,

was seen as a deterrent to wrongdoing. For decades

public executions in America, generally by

hanging, were popular events; they were attended

by families who had traveled many miles to witness

the spectacle of a fellow human being losing his life.

The popularity of such affairs is evident in a

photograph taken at the last hanging in Denton

County, Texas in 1895. The photo shows a large

crowd of men, women and children — dressed in

their best Sunday clothing and some carrying

picnic lunches—gathered to witness the hanging.

Another example is the last known public execution

in the United States, a hanging in Owensboro,

Kentucky in August, 1936. A news service

photograph taken moments after the "drop" shows

some 20,000 persons packed around the gallows,

with the dead man dangling at the end of the rope. I

In our opinion, a form of public execution—the

political assassination—was brought back to use in

the 1960's. A number of sophisticated methods of

inflicting death were available to the force we

believe ordered and carried out the assassination of

John Kennedy. His death could have been made to

appear natural (a "heart attack") or accidental (by

drowning in the White House swimming pool). Had

they merely wanted to remove him from office, they

could have done so by disclosing to the public,

details of the President's abundant sexual activity.

J. Edgar Hoover and others were aware of JFK's

extramarital affairs with a horde of young women,2

and by making these facts publicly known, could

have driven the President from office in disgrace.

But rather than killing him covertly, black-

mailing him, or ridding him by scandal, what

happened? He was brutally murdered in full view of

hundreds of spectators, including his wife and the

Vice-President. In the middle of the day they blew

his brains out on the streets of downtown Dallas.

Why? There must have been a reason.

We believe the assassination was carried out in

this manner for the same reason criminals of the

past were executed in public:

(1) To prohibit the criminal from com-

mitting further crimes ;

(2) To deter others from following his

example.

The latter is all-important, for every President or

aspirant to that office cannot help but see, hear and

remember the events of November 22, 1963. Like

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most of the citizens of this nation, they realize the

assassination was not the deed of a lone nut. Most

of them are able to recognize that responsibility for

the act lies with a force far greater than can be

imagined by the average citizen. As Colonel L.

Fletcher Prouty, U. S. Air Force, Retired, has

written:

"And when those rifles crackled over Dealey

Plaza in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963

and John F. Kennedy's brain was splattered

across the road, they had made their move

into the big time. They took over control of

the President and of the Presidency. The

man they killed was no longer a problem and

they had made certain that his successor,

Lyndon Johnson, heard and remembered the

sound of those guns. It is the sound of those

guns in Dallas, and their ever-present threat,

which is the real mechanism of control over

the American government."3(Identification

of "They" is the subject of the next chapter.)

The assassination of John Kennedy was a

carefully-planned, professionally-executed opera-

tion. It was not, as our government tells us, the

almost accidental, unpremeditated act of a lone,

uneducated, unloved, misunderstood nut. This we

will attempt to show in this chapter. In doing so,

we realize that many before us have traveled this

road and have become immeshed in the maze of

altered, suppressed and mutilated misinformation

provided us by the Warren Commission.

In the next few pages we shall try to portray,

shot by shot, the sequence, point of origin and

effect of each bullet fired in Dealey Plaza that day.

The evidence cited for each shot is based on what

we consider the best evidence: the film taken by

Abraham Zapruder; the early statements of

eyewitnesses; the description of the wounds as

related by the Parkland Hospital staff;

photographs taken during the shooting; the early

evidence acquired by Dallas authorities.

The reconstructed assassination scenario we

present here completely ignores the latest medical

findings and conclusions of experts or so-called

experts who have been allowed access to the

President's autopsy photographs and X-rays. This

evidence is omitted for the following reasons:

(1) The early eyewitness accounts of the

Parkland Hospital staff are far more credible

than the report based on the military-

controlled autopsy at Bethesda Naval

Hospital. Actions taken by those involved

with the autopsy include:

(a) Failure to probe the President's

back wound.

(b) Failure to dissect the path of the

wound in the President's throat.

(c) Destruction of a portion of the

photographic record of the autopsy

prior to development.

(d) Failure to dissect the President's

brain.

(e) Destruction of the original

autopsy notes.

(2) The location and source of the wounds

seem to change with each new expert who

examines the long-suppressed medical

material.

(3) Based on the alteration, mutilation,

destruction and suppression of evidence as

seen in previous chapters, we see no reason,

after twelve years, to accept as authentic, the

materials now being produced.

In reality, the only conclusion that can be derived

from the reports of those who have viewed the

autopsy materials is that no conclusion can be

reached.

The most graphic evidence detailing the

sequence, direction and effect of the bullets is, of

course, the Zapruder film. When properly

analyzed, this film chronicles the time-lapse

between shots to less than 1/18 of a second. Each

time 18 1/3 frames of film passed through the lens

of Zapruder's home-movie camera, one second

elapsed.4

Those who are familiar with the loud and

violent report of a high-powered rifle know of the

involuntary reflex action which occurs each time a

shot is fired. A close study of the 22-second film

reveals that Zapruder reacted convulsively to the

sound of each shot fired during the assassination.

By coordinating the blurred frames of the film—

caused by Zapruder's response to a gunshot—with

the reaction of the victims as they are wounded, an

accurate chronology of the firing sequence can be

ascertained.

The Execution: Dealey Plaza Revisited

As we see it, the execution of President

Kennedy was a precision ambush carried out with

minimum personnel trained for maximum effect.

Its objective was the "termination" or

"neutralization" of the Target, John Fitzgerald

Kennedy. The execution was staged in the Primary

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wooden stockade fence) it is probable that each

Gunman was accompanied by a Back-up Man who

could have acted as Radio Liaison, aided in

identifying the Target or assisted the Gunman in

escaping.

The ambush was paramilitary in design.

Within the Dealey Plaza Kill Area there apparently

were two "Kill Zones." Kill Zone A appears to have

been designated at the fourth set of road stripes

counting westward from the intersection of Elm

and Houston Streets. As the limousine carrying the

Target moved into the Kill Area the Audio

Commander, overlooking the site from a strategic

location, gave the order for the Rifle Teams to

move into position.

As the Presidential limousine approached Kill

Zone A, the Audio Commander signaled for the

firing to commence and a diversionary shot was

fired by the Decoy Assassin in the "Oswald win-

dow." As the Target reached Zone A the Com-

mander ordered the first volley and the Gunmen in

Rifle Team One simultaneously fired one shot each

at the President. #1 Gunman shot from Firing

Point A (the west end of the TSBD roof) and struck

Kennedy in the back. Upon command, #2 Gunman

had moved from his position behind the pergola on

the north side of Elm Street to Firing Point B at

the corner of the low white concrete wall at the

President's right front; his shot struck Kennedy in

the throat.*

Visual Coordinator #1, holding an open um-

brella and standing approximately 15 yards to the

right of the Target, could see that definite lethal

wounds had not been inflicted; he gave a visual

signal to the Central Radio Communicator that

additional shots would be required. The Audio

Commander then advised Rifle Team Two to

prepare to fire; at his command their shots went off

almost simultaneously as the limousine entered Kill

Zone B, the sixth set of road stripes. #3 Gunman at

Firing Point C (the southwest corner window on the

sixth floor of the TSBD) shattered Kennedy's

skull. From Firing Point D (the fence) #4 Gunman

struck the President in the right temple and in-

flicted further, irreparable damage to the Target's

skull and brain.

, At this time, Visual Coordinator #2 relayed the

message to a Radio Liaison Man that the Kill had

* Possibly the assassins, wanting to minimize the number of

bullet fragments which would result from impact on the skull,

intended to sever their target's spinal cord with the first round

of shots. That happened in Memphis in 1968 when the murderer

of Martin Luther King, Jr. fired a bullet into King's lower right

jaw and disjoined the neck from the spinal cord.

been accomplished and evacuation of the Gunmen

and their accomplices should begin.

The entire firing sequence lasted exactly 5.9

seconds.

At this point the reader has perhaps dismissed

this as merely another conspiracy theory based on

sheer conjecture. This is understandable, in view of

some of the ludicrous theories put forth in the past.

Because our reconstruction is based on concrete

evidence, we believe it to be among the more

plausible scenarios yet put forth. On the following

pages we present a shot-by-shot analysis of our

Dallas Scenario, documenting each shot with what

we believe to be sufficient evidence.

Law enforcement personnel and witnesses assemble in front of

Depository.

Crowd gathers at entrance of TSBD as police prepare to search

building.

The Execution 120

Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963, 12:30 p.m. (CST)

OBJECTIVE:

Termination or Neutralization of the predesignated Target.

TARGET:

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States.

PRIMARY KILL AREA:

Dealey Plaza, western edge of downtown Dallas.

Kill Zone "A": 4th set of road stripes on Elm Street counting westward from

Houston Street.

Kill Zone "B": 6th set of road stripes on Elm Street counting westward from

Houston Street.

FIRING POINTS:

Firing Point A: TSBD roof, west end.

Firing Point B: Low concrete wall on grassy knoll north.

Firing Point C: TSBD sixth floor, southwest corner window.

Firing Point D: Wooden stockade fence, grassy knoll north.

ASSASSINATION SQUAD:

Rifle Team One

each accompanied by a Backup Man

Rifle Team Two

Decoy or False Assassin (firing for diversionary and evidentuary purposes

from TSBD sixth floor, southeast corner window.)

Audio Commander (Central Radio Communicator—stationed at an un-

determined position overlooking the entire Kill Area.)

Visual Coordinator #1

(The Umbrella Man— positioned parallel with Kill

Zone A, 15 yards from Target.)

Visual Coordinator #2 (Positioned on steps leading up grassy knoll, over-

looking Kill Zone B.)

Other members of the Squad apparently included a

tall Latin or Cuban individual who may have acted

as a Visual Coordinator; another Cuban who

participated in the Evacuation & Escape phase of

the operation by driving fellow Squad members

from the Kill Area in a green Rambler station

wagon; an Operative who staged a diversionary act

by simulating an epileptic seizure near the Kill

Area minutes before arrival of the Target.

#1 Gunman

#2 Gunman

#3 Gunman

#4 Gunman

121

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The Execution

122

SHOT NUMBER ONE

TIME:

Z-Frame 209

ELAPSED TIME

BETWEEN PRE-

VIOUS SHOT:

This was the first shot.

FIRING POINT:

TSBD, 6th floor southeast

corner window.

TRAJECTORY:

This missile struck the

sidewalk on the north side of

Elm Street 35 feet to the front

and 25 feet to the right of the

Presidential limousine; it

fragmented, riccocheted and

the lead portion went on to

strike the south curb of Main

Street near the triple un-

derpass.*

PURPOSE:

To divert the attention of

spectators, police and Secret

Service; to give the police

hard evidence leading directly

to the patsy, Lee Harvey

Oswald.

EFFECT:

A fragment from the missile

or the curb deflected and

struck bystander James

Tague on the cheek, causing a

superficial wound.

SUPPORTING

EVIDENCE:

—Camera movement at Z-209

caused by Zapruder's in-

voluntary response to the

sound of a gunshot.

* The missiles from the "Oswald rifle" were lead core, copper

jacketed bullets. The mark on the curb near the underpass,

when examined, contained traces of lead but no copper. The

core and jacket were evidently separated upon impact with the Frames 208-211, showing the shake of Zapruder's camera as he

sidewalk. reacts to the sound of a gunshot. Note posts on freeway sign.

—

Bullet mark on north side of Elm St. sidewalk

Photo by Jeff T. Wallace

Sighting back to TSBD from bullet scar on sidewalk

The Execution 124

believed to be on Channel

Four, in which a mark on the

sidewalk was pointed out.

Approximately three

months ago, he stated he

viewed such mark, which he is

sure was caused by a bullet,

and that this mark is ap-

proximately six inches long.

He described the location of

this mark as being in the

middle of the sidewalk on the

north side of Elm Street,

which side is nearest the

Texas School Book

Depository Building. He

stated there is a lamp post

near the sidewalk, which is

about even with the west end

of the Texas School Book

Depository Building and that

the above-described mark is

approximately eight feet east

of the lamp post on the

sidewalk. He stated that a

reporter for "The Dallas

Morning News," CARL

FREUND, has also stated

this is a bullet mark.

When asked as to why he

had waited until this time to

furnish the foregoing in-

formation, he stated he felt

that such an important point

would be covered in the

President's Commission

report and did not want to

become involved by fur-

nishing the information at

this time, but felt that such

information, if overlooked,

should be made available.5

Mr.Aldredge told Dallas

radio talk-show host Lou

Staples that five days after

making his report to the FBI,

he went to inspect the bullet

mark again and found that

some type of filler substance

had been used to fill the in-

dentation in the pavement.6

This bullet scar on the Elm

Street sidewalk can still be

seen today. It is not men-

tioned in the Warren Report.

—

The Execution

126

James Tague near Triple Underpass just after shots,

Crowds gather in Kill Area ten minutes after killing of President.

127

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—

The Execution

130

Zapruder frames 220-225 show the shake of Zapruder's camera

and Kennedy emerging from behind sign, obviously reacting to

a bullet wound.

131

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Young couple at base of grassy knoll.

The Execution

132

SHOT NUMBER THREE

TIME:

Z-Frame 227.

ELAPSED TIME

BETWEEN PRE-

VIOUS SHOT:

Less than 3/10 of a second.

This shot was almost

simultaneous to shot #2.

FIRING POINT:

Corner of the white 4' wall

which extends from the

pergola on grassy knoll north.

Upon command of the Central

Radio Communicator, #2

Gunman left his pre-strike

position behind the pergola

and walked to Firing Point B

at the corner of the wall; he

was wearing a long, brown

overcoat with a rifle concealed

beneath it. On command #2

Gunman raised his weapon

from under the coat and fired.

He then placed the rifle

beneath his coat, turned and

hastily departed for the

parking area behind the fence.

TRAJECTORY:

Struck JFK in the throat,

slightly above the necktie.*

* Determined from the testimony of Parkland Hospital

physician Charles Carrico:

Carrico: All we knew this was a small wound here.

Dulles: I see. And you put your hand right above where

your tie is?

Carrico: Yes, sir; just where the tie—

The holes in the President's tie and in the front of the shirt

contained no traces of metal, but the Commission concluded

that because the cloth fibers protruded outward, the holes had

probably been caused by a missile fired from Oswald's rifle. An

FBI photograph of the shirt, obtained by Harold Weisberg and

published in Post Mortem, clearly shows that the holes are

actually slits, and could not have been caused by an exiting

bullet. The slits were made by a doctor's scalpel when Ken-

nedy's clothing was being removed at Parkland Hospital. This

is just one more example in which the Commission knowingly

lied to the public by presenting a conclusion it knew to be false.

Zapruder frame 228: JFK clutches throat as he receives frontal

throat wound.

—

The Execution

134

behind the fence. She ob-

served " . . . a man up there

running, or getting

away . . . at the top of the

slope." She described the man

as of "average height and of

heavy build" and "wearing a

brown raincoat and a hat."

She said he ran "in the

direction of the railroad

tracks." The man seen at

Firing Point D in the Betzner

and Willis photos appears to

be wearing a hat and dark

coat. Because the man is no

longer there in pictures taken

seconds later, he is quite

likely the same man seen

fleeing by Mrs. Hill., An

abandoned overcoat was

found later that afternoon

under an overpass a short

distance west of Dealey Plaza.

—According to photo expert

Richard Sprague (who has the

largest known collection of

photographs taken in Dallas

on November 22, 1963), a puff

of smoke at the corner of the

wall appears in seven separate

photos taken during the

shooting.

—An early report out of

Washington which stated

"Pathologists in Washington

speculated Saturday that

President Kennedy's spinal

cord and some vital nerve

tracts near the base of the

brain may have been badly

damaged by the bullet that

killed him Friday."

(DallasMorning News, 11-24-

63).

NOTE:

The first three shots were

fired within a time span of one

second. Considering the

reverberations that would

occur in Dealey Plaza, these

shots could easily have been

mistaken by witnesses as a

single shot.

Spectators race to knoll area to witness possible capture of

assassin's]. Arrow points to policeman Bobby Hargis.

135

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Zapruder frames 226-231 show shake of Zapruder's camera as

he reacts to gunfire. Z-227 shows violent reaction of JFK as he

grasps his throat.

This Phil Willis photo, taken at approximately Z-198, shows

Kennedy just before he received a bullet in the back. Probable

Gunman is visible behind wall.

*IT 6411Ti1

• Iv 04,*

Seconds after the shots, Willis took this photo which reveals

that the man behind the wall has disappeared.

The Execution 138

Enlargement showing presence of man behind wall.

Enlargement showing disappearance of the man.

139

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The Execution

140

SHOT NUMBER FOUR

The shot which struck

Governor John B. Connally is

the mystery of this Dallas

Scenario. Fired between the

two volleys directed at the

President, the Connally shot

seems to have been unrelated

to that of Kennedy. We

believe that the following

evidence makes it quite clear

that he was not the victim of

an errant bullet; the Kennedy

Gunmen were none but

master marksmen, and they

would not have missed their

Target completely, wounding

another occupant of the

limousine. John Connally was

intentionally shot but

presently we are at a loss to

explain why.

TIME:

Z-Frame 289

ELAPSED TIME

BETWEEN PRE-

VIOUS SHOT:

Photo of Presidential limousine on Main Street, showing

seating arrangement of car's occupants.

Less than 3 4/10 seconds. At Z-274 Connally is still firmly clutching his hat-2.8 seconds

after the Commission says his wrist has been shattered by

wonder-bullet CE399.

FIRING POINT:

Considering the position of

Connally's body at the time of

the shot, and the vertical and

horizontal angles of the path

of the missile through his

body, this shot can be traced

to the roof (southwest corner)

of the County Records

Building.

TRAJECTORY:

This bullet struck Governor

Connally in the back, just to

the lower right of his right

shoulder blade.

Connally, still erect, has turned to his right to see what has

happened (Z-285].

Connally is still uninjured in frame 286.

Still erect, the Governor shows no sign of being wounded.

COVER-UP141

EFFECT:

The missile traversed Con-

nally's chest, blasting out

approximately four inches of

the fifth rib and collapsing the

right lung. It exited below the

right nipple and smashed into

his right wrist, with a

fragment deflecting and

embedding itself in his left

thigh.

SUPPORTING

EVIDENCE:

—The shake of Zapruder's

camera.

—A hit on Governor Connally

at Z-289 is much later than

most critics are willing to

concede; the genefal belief is

that Z-237 or Z-238 is the

moment the Governor is

struck. The conclusion that Z-

289 is the frame of impact. is

based on two things:

(1) Connally's testimony

before the Warren Com-

mission

(2) The movement of his body

in the Zapruder film.

Both correspond exactly and

conclusively with the other.

Let us examine the Gover-

nor's testimony regarding his

wounding:

We had just made the turn,

well, when I heard what I

though was a shot. I heard

this noise which I im-

mediately took to be a rifle

shot. I instinctively turned to

my right because the sound

appeared to come from over

my right shoulder, so I turned

to look back over my right

shoulder, and I saw nothing

unusual except just people in

the crowd, but I did not catch

the President in the corner of

my eye, and I was interested,

because once I heard the shot

in my own mind I identified it

as rifle shot, and I im-

mediately—the only thought

Connally has completed turn to his right in frame 288. At this

point it is impossible for him to have been struck by a shot

originating in the TSBD, or by a bullet exiting JFK's throat.

Z-289: Impact. Extreme movement of his head from position in

previous frame indicates Connally is struck at this frame.

Z.290: Picture becomes blurred as Zapruder reacts to rifle

explosion.

The Execution

142

that crossed my mind was

that this is an assassination

attempt. So, I looked, failing

to see him, I was turning to

look back over my left

shoulder into the back seat,

but I never got that far in my

turn. I got about in the

position I am in now facing

you, looking a little bit to the

left of center, and then I felt

like someone had hit me in the

back. (Some testimony

omitted) But again I will

repeat very briefly when what

I believe to be the shot first

occurred, I turned to my

right, which was away from

both of them, of course, and

looked out and could see

neither, and then as I was

turning to look into the back

seat where I would have seen

both of them, I was hit, so I

never completed the turn at

all, and I never saw either one

of them after the firing

started, and, of course, as I

have testified, then Mrs.

Connally pulled me over into

her lap and I was facing

forward with my head slightly

turned up to where I could see

the driver and Roy Kellerman

on his right, but I could not

see into the back seat, so I

didn't see either one of them.

(Emphasis added.)9

The Zapruder film shows

quite clearly that Connally

does exactly that: he turns

completely to his right and

begins the turn back to his left

before showing definite

reaction to a wound. The

belief of most critics that Z-

237 or 238 is the frame of

impact (Connally himself says

Z-234) is based on the puffing

of Connally's cheeks, the

downward movement of his

right shoulder and the

disarrangement of his hair. It

should be noted, though, that

Connally continued the turn Z-291; Connally begins collapse into his wife's arms.

Z-292: The Governor's face comes into focus as he is driven

backward toward his wife.

Z-293: Connally's face registers definite reaction to wound.

Z-294: Connally's mouth is open as he cries, "My God, they're

going to kill us all!"

143

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to his right to look over his

shoulder, as he testified; with

the severity of the wound, it is

extremely unlikely that he

could have completed the turn

and remained upright for 2

8/10 seconds, had he been hit

at that point. There is a

definite reaction to a shot at

Z-289 as Zapruder's camera

again shakes and the

Governor buckles and

collapses into the seat toward

his wife. The position of his

body and the angle of the shot

at Z-289 necessitates a firing

point at the southwest corner

of the roof of the County

Records Building on the

eastern edge of Dealey Plaza.

ritg

Sheriff Bill Decker [left] confers

with Sgt. Gerald Hill [right],

It should be pointed out

that as late as Z-275 Connally

is still clutching his Stetson

hat in his right hand, even

though the Warren Report

contends that his right wrist

has been shattered by a bullet

fired at least 2.8 seconds

earlier. That he is still holding

the hat at Z-275 is indicative

that no wound of the wrist has

yet been received. While some

critics suggest tht the wrist

wound was caused by a bullet

or bone fragment from one of

the Kennedy head shots, we

question the ability of a

fragment to inflict that much

damage to the thick bones of

the wrist. Other evidence

includes:

—The fact that Connally's

shirt and coat were cleaned

and pressed before being

The Execution

144

introduced as evidence before

the Commission.

—A man with a gun is known

to have been on the roof of the

County Records Building

during the assassination.

According to Roger Craig,

Deputy Sheriff Harry

Weatherford was at this

location with a rifle equipped

with a telescopic sight.*1°

The reason for the

Connally shooting remains

clouded. We can only

speculate. Evidence seems to

suggest that the attempted

murder of the Governor may

have been made by elements

of organized crime. * * This

aspect of "Black Friday" is

too complex and too lengthy

to be discussed in this book.

The shootings of both John

Connally and Officer J. D.

Tippit are mysteries in their

own right and merit the same

diligent attention citizen-

investigators and researchers

have accorded the Kennedy

murder.

* In view of the fact that Sheriff Bill Decker assembled all his

deputies on the morning of November 22 to inform them that

they were to play no part in Presidential security ,11

Weatherford's presence on the roof with a weapon is curious.

Deputy Sheriff Pat Boyd told Craig that two weeks prior to

the shooting of Kennedy and Connally, he (Boyd) had built a

silencer for a .30 caliber carbine owned by Weatherford.12

Weatherford, of course, was furious with Craig for

divulging his whereabouts at the time of the assassination.

When Craig became a Corporation Court Judge in Midlothian,

Texas, he was told by Weatherford, "If you ever try to arraign

me, there will be a G d gun battle."13

In 1969 a young assassination researcher interviewed

Weatherford, and was taken by the man's savage demeanor. He

asked him point-blank if he had shot Connally or Kennedy.

Weatherford snapped, "You little son of a b----, I shoot a lot of

people."14

**The starting point for this possibility is the October 14, 1963

conversation overheard by Dallas attorney Carroll Jarnagin in

Jack Ruby's Carousel Club. Jarnagin said he heard Ruby and a

man using the name H. L. Lee (the lawyer said it was Lee

Oswald) discussing a plan to kill Connally; see chapter 2.

Photo by Jeff T. Wallace

Sighting from Connally's Elm St. position at Z-289 back to

Firing Point atop County Records Bldg.

The gunman's view of the Kill Area from Firing Point on roof of

Records Bldg. Dot shows position of Connally at Z-289. A

member of the Sheriff's Department was at this location with a

rifle during the assassination—even though Sheriff Decker told

his deputies they were to play no part in Presidential security.

The Execution

146

After the ambush witnesses continue to congregate near knoll area.

Photography of Dealey Plaza taken from south side of plaza [Grassy Knoll South] ten minutes after assassination.

147

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—

149 COVER-UP

rather than the far east

corner; the distance from the

southwest corner window to

Kill Zone B is 72 yards. There

would be no need for the

assassin to project himself or

his rifle out of the window.

—The rotation of JFK's head

forward and to the left; it

moves forward almost three

inches in the span of two

frames of Zapruder's film.

—The appearance of the

wound in Z-316, open and

gaping. *

—Damage to the inside

portion of the limousine's

windshield caused by a skull

or bullet fragment from this

shot.15

* Likened to a plowed furrow.

Clint Hill, Mrs. Kennedy on rear of car as it speeds toward

Triple Underpass.

Z-312: Impact- Shot fired from TSBD sixth floor [west end]

strikes JFK in rear of head. Car has come almost to a complete

stop.

The Execution

150

Z-313: President's skull explodes in a shower of blood and brain

tissue as bullet exits his right temple. Driver continues to stare

into back seat.

Z-316 shows the wound of exit—open and gaping—in JFK's

right temple.

151

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—

...,....

....... ...

The Execution

154

wound, and I noted that the

right posterior portion of the

skull had been blasted. It had

been shattered, apparently,

by the force of the shot so that

the parietal bone was

protruded up through the

scalp and seemed to be

fractured almost along its

posterior half, as well as some

of the occipital bone being

fractured in its lateral half,

and this sprung open the

bones that I mentioned in

such a way that you could

actually look down into the

skull cavity itself and see that

probably a third or so, at

least, of the brain tissue,

posterior cerebral tissue and

some of the cerebellar tissue

had been blasted out."22*

It is very clear that each

of these doctors were

describing a wound in the rear

of the skull caused by a bullet

exiting there.

Evidence cited in Chapter

One, including:

51 witnesses who said a

shot or shots came from

the grassy knoll;

Seven men who saw a

puff of smoke near the

wooden fence;

Zapruder frames 312 and 321, showing violent motion of JFK's

upper torso to the left rear in just 5/10 of one second [approx.].

Lee Bowers saw two

men behind the fence

and saw a puff of smoke

or flash of light there

during the shooting;

Cigarette butts and

footprints in the mud

behind the fence, found

by S. M. Holland and

others;

J. C. Price saw a man

running from behind

the fence after the last

shot;

Policeman park s motorcycle to pursue assassin.

155

COVER-UP

The Moorman

photograph shows an

object behind the fence

that is no longer there

in photos taken

later.

There are indications that one or both of the

shots from the knoll came from a 30.06 rifle. Dallas

insurance salesman Gary Campbell, a junior high

school student in 1963, skipped school on

November 22 to see the President. He was standing

near the intersection of Main and Houston when

the shots rang out. A gun enthusiast at an early

age, Campbell recognized one of the shots as

coming from a 30.06 rifle. The attention of the

crowd was focused on the occupants of the

President's car but Campbell glanced up the

embankment and saw a man with a rifle dart

behind the concrete pagola.

Mrs. Earle Cabell, wife of the then-mayor of

Dallas, testified that Congressman Ray Roberts

was sitting beside her and remarked that one of the

shots sounded like a 30.06. That afternoon a

mailman handed an empty 30.06 cartridge to a

television cameraman, asking that it be given to

Bert Shipp, a local TV personality. The uniden-

tified mailman said he found the shell in some

bushes near the Texas School Book Depository.

The bushes nearest that building are those on the

west side of the building near the railroad yard, and

the shrubbery on the grassy knoll. Shipp still has

the cartridge. _J

William and Gail Newman sprawl on turf at base of knoll. Both

Newman [a Korean war combat veteran] and his wife said that

shots came from directly behind them. Realizing that they were

in the line of fire, the Newmans threws themselves to the

ground and shielded their two small children.

The Execution

156

Texas School Book Depository at approximately 1:40 p.m., the

day of the assassination.

Large crowd gathers on grassy knoll following murder of

President.

157

COVER-UP

Zapruder frames 317.320 show blurring as Zapruder reacts to a

final gun blast, fired by Decoy Assassin in TSBD using

Oswald's rifle. Missile was rued into grassy area on south side

of Elm and later recovered [see "Other Bullets," Chapter 31.

The Execution

158

SHOT NUMBER SEVEN

TIME:

Z-Frame 318.

ELAPSED TIME

BETWEEN PRE-

VIOUS SHOT:

1/10 of one second.

FIRING POINT:

TSBD, 6th floor southeast

corner window.

PURPOSE and

EFFECT:

This was another shot from

the "Oswald window" fired

for diversionary and

evidentiary purposes. The

bullet struck the ground near

the sewer opening by the

south curb of Elm Street; the

slug was recovered ten

minutes later and its existence

denied by local and federal

authorities.

SUPPORTING

EVIDENCE:

—Several persons, including

Robert Jackson, Mrs. Earle

Cabe11 and Howard Brennan,

saw either a man lingering in

the window after the last shot,

or a rifle barrel slowly being

withdrawn.23There seems to

have been an effort on this

gunman's part to be seen.

—Evidence, photographic

and statement, cited in "The

Material Evidence."

—CD 1518: "Gouged Out

Hole in Grass Near Texas

School Book Depository,

Observed by Mr. & Mrs.

Wayne E. Hartman on

November 22, 1963."

—The Connally shot and the

two shots to Kennedy's head

were all three fired within a

time span of one and one-half

•

—

. __ _____

---

------

-— ---

-------_

---

------

--— — " -

---——

-'-'----

= .

163

COVER-UP

NOTES - CHAPTER SIX

1.McCafferty, James (Editor) Capital Punishment, p. 25.

2. Dallas Morning News, 12'-23-75.

3. Prouty - The Guns of Dallas"; Gallery magazine, 10-75,

4. Report, p. 49.

5. Gemberling Report, pp. 66-68.

6. The Lou Staples Show, KRLD Radio, Dallas (5-01.75).

7. Thompson. Josiah -Six Seconds in Dallas, pp. 216-217.

8. Lane, Mark -Rush to Judgment, p. 345.

9. Report, p. 77.

10. Interview of Roger Craig by Gary Shaw and Penn Jones.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13.Jones, Penn -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III, p. 36.

14. Interview conducted by Gary Shaw and Larry Harris, 11-

75.

15. Report, pp. 77-78.

16. XIX H 170.

17. New York Times, 11-23-63.

18. VI H 56.

19.VI H 11.

20. Saturday Evening Post, 12-14-63.

21. VI H 41.

22. VI H 65.

23. VI H 33.

24. Report, pp. 63-65.

25. Thompson -op. cit., pp. 95-98.

26. Report, p. 110.

27. Hepburn, James -Farewell America, p. 359.

The individuals on the opposite page are mentioned in the

Warren Commission "Hearings" and unpublished Commission

documents; some were prominent in the Garrison inquiry; some

are mentioned in other publications concerning the Kennedy

assassination. Several of these persons are believed to have

been directly or indirectly involved in the President's murder,

and some are suspected of being actual gunmen in Dealey

Plaza.

Hank and Wanda Killam R. D. Matthews Emilio Santana

Robert and

Nancy Perrin Jack YoungbloodGordon Novel

The Execution 164

Gerry Patrick HemmingThomas Beckham John Howard Bowen Harry Dean

William Duff Guy Gabaldin Manuel Garcia Gonzales

165

COVER-UP

CHAPTER SEVEN

SPECULATION: WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

166

In the years following the release of the

Warren Report and the subsequent universal tide

of criticism it has received, Federal authorities and

certain members of the mass media have con-

tinuously conducted an on-going campaign against

critics of the Commission and its report. As a rule,

they have sought to create the impression that a

small band of publicity-seeking, money-hungry

crackpots continue to probe the case for self-

serving purposes.

The late Allen Dulles, former-CIA director and

a member of the Commission, used to object that

the critics "haven't come up with anything new."

He said, "If they've found another assassin, let

them name names and produce their evidence,"

suggesting that the critics were irresponsible

because they failed to provide the answers. But

every day of every year, juries acquit defendants

whom, on the evidence, they find not guilty; they

are not expected at the same time to tell the

prosecution who was guilty. Why? Because jurors,

like the critics and researchers of the assassination,

lack the authority to investigate and the power to

subpoena.

We are restricted to speculation. And based on

the evidence available after 12 years, it is possible

to speculate as to the power behind the

assassination of John Kennedy. Over the years a

number of plausible and implatisible theories as to

who was responsible have been put forth. They

include Khrushchev and/or Soviet Intelligence;

Fidel Castro; Anti-Castro Cuban exiles; Right-

Wingers; Left-Wingers; Texas Oilmen; Lyndon

Johnson; the Mafia; the CIA; the Secret Service;

and J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Those who have

taken the time to objectively research and study

this case realize that the leads point in all directions

and that there is evidence pointing to each of the

men and organizations just mentioned; the

evidence can be construed to create a conspiracy for

every taste, prejudice or political stance.

In beginning our evaluation of some of the

suspects and the motives they might have had, we

pose again the questions cited in the preface of this

book:

Cui Bono? (Who Gained?). Who had

reasonable motive to remove Kennedy from office

and benefit or profit thereby?

Who had the power and resources to kill an

American President?

Who could manipulate a cover-up involving

Federal agencies and authorities, and prolong the

cover-up for more than a decade?

Who could be powerful enough to persuade or

command some of the highest officials of our

government to perjure themselves to the American

public?

In seeking to answer these questions ob-

jectively, we are led ultimately to one conclusion.

But before we give that conclusion, let us examine

and evaluate some of the major forces who merit

scrutiny, asking each of the above questions as we

proceed.

167

COVER-UP

Wlt-

WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

THE RIGHT WING?

The Warren Commission spent a considerable

amount of time trying to dispel speculation about a

right-wing plot to kill JFK.1This seemed a strong

possibility because the assassination occurred in

Dallas, a leading center of political conservatism in

the United States. In 1963 Dallas was a hub of

right-wing activity led by such groups as the John

Birch Society and the Indignant White Citizens'

Council. "Big D" also posted one of the highest

murder rates in the nation.

Dallas was the home of right-wing luminaries

H. L. Hunt and Major General (Resigned) Edwin

A. Walker. Hunt was the multi-millionaire oilman

who expounded his ultra-conservative views in

books, pamphlets and a syndicated radio program.

Walker, a right-wing fanatic, had been relieved of

his command in 1962 by President Kennedy after

the general refused to cease indoctrinating his

troops in Germany with John Birch

literature.2When United Nations Ambassador

Adlai Stevenson appeared in Dallas on October 24,

1963, he was cursed, spat upon and struck with a

placard during a protest rally staged by Walker's

National Indignation Committee;3The incident

received widespread critical news coverage and

darkened Dallas' already tarnished reputation as a

city of hate and violence.

On the morning of November 22, 1963, the

American flag outside the General's Dallas home

was flown upside-down, a signal of national

distress; after the President was murdered Walker

put the flag right-side up and refused to lower it to

half-staff.4

Interesting are the activities of Hunt and

Walker on the day of the assassination. At 12:23

the oilman looked down on the motorcade from his

office on the seventh floor of the Mercantile Bank

Building;5afterward, escorted by agents of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hunt went

directly to Dallas Love Field and departed on Delta

Flight 44.6The General, meanwhile, was in an

airplane between New Orleans and Shreveport;

when news of the President's shooting was an-

nounced over the public address system, Walker

became very excited and nervous. He roamed up

and down the aisle of the plane, telling fellow-

passengers and stewardesses to take note of where

he was when the assassination occurred in

Dallas.? Walker later joined Hunt at one of the oil

baron's secret hideaways across the Mexican

border and the pair remained there for a month,

under the protection of bodyguards and, repor-

tedly, the FBI. The Hunt-Walker party did not

return to "Big D" until Christmas.8

Two days before the President's arrival in

Dallas, the notorious "Wanted For Treason"

leaflets began circulating on city streets. Fashioned

after a wanted poster with full-face and profile

photographs of Kennedy, the leaflets listed seven

charges against him. Two of the charges were: "He

has given support and encouragement to the

Communist-inspired racial riots" and "He has been

lax in enforcing Communist Registration laws."

These were printed and distributed by Robert A.

Surrey, an associate and business partner of

General Walker.9

The November 22, 1963 edition of the Dallas

Morning News carried the infamous full-page,

black-bordered advertisement highly critical of

Kennedy. Among those financing the ad were

Nelson Bunker Hunt, son of the oilman, and

Bernard Weissman, who had served under General

Walker in Germany.10 Sponsorship for the ad

was attributed to The American Fact-Finding

Committee, which Weissman later testified was

"formed strictly for the purpose of having a name

to put in the paper."11

The advertisement consisted of a large

headline, "Welcome Mr. Kennedy to Dallas,"

followed by a series of critical questions directed to

the President. An example: "Why have you or-

dered or permitted your brother Bobby to go soft

on Communists, fellow-travelers, and ultra-leftists

in America, while permitting him to persecute loyal

Americans who criticize you, your administration

and your leadership?" This exhibition of arch-

conservatism prompted President Kennedy to

remark privately in Fort Worth's Texas Hotel the

morning of the assassination: "We're really in nut

country now ."12

In general, men like Hunt and Walker were

highly displeased with the young President's

liberal views and "bleeding heart" actions. Par-

ticularly, they were incensed at his support of the

civil rights movement and his dealings with the

Soviet Union and Castro's Cuba. These men

genuinely feared a Communist takeover of the

Western Hemisphere, a fear so intense that it

sometimes reached a state of paranoia. In their

view Kennedy was so lax in dealing with Com-

munist countries that some no doubt suspected the

President himself as being an agent or represen-

tative of a communist nation, determined uo sell

America down the path to Communism. Men like

Hunt and Walker shed no tears when Kennedy

died, and indeed, most felt a strong sense of relief.

...

•

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

170

aware of the Miami police tape and Milteer's name

appears nowhere in the 26 volumes of hearings,

even though he was interviewed by the FBI. The

existence of the police tape was not made public

until February 2, 1967, in a Miami News story by

reporter Bill Barry.

Did right-wing elements have a reasonable

motive for wanting John Kennedy removed from

office? Yes, in a perverted sense of patriotism

arising from their fear of Communist-domination of

the Western Hemisphere.

Did the right-wing possess the power and

resources to kill an American President? Yes.

Could the right-wing have manipulated a

cover-up involving Federal agencies and

authorities? No, it is extremely unlikely.

Could the right-wing have been powerful

enough to persuade or command some of the

highest officials of our government to perjure

themselves before the American public? No. For

instance, would a staunch liberal like Earl Warren

consent to cover up evidence of a non-

governmental, right-wing plot to kill the

President? Of course not. The power of right-wing

organizations simply did not reach that high into

the structure of our government.

(Too, it would be illogical for the Right to

carry out the assassination in a center of ultra-right

activity like Dallas, thereby imputing blame to the

Right.)

Therefore, while right-wing elements may

have been incorporated into the operational stage

of the assassination by the planners, responsibility

for the murder of JFK lies somewhere other than

with the Right-Wing.

WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

TEXAS OILMEN?

The late H. L. Hunt has often been mentioned

in this respect, and some are convinced that he,

Sid Richardson or Clint Murchison may have

helped finance the assassination operation. As a

general rule, oilmen are staunch conservatives and

their reasons for wanting JFK out of office would

be the same as those outlined in the previous

section, with at least two additions.

On October 16, 1962, a law known as the

Kennedy Act removed the distinction between

repatriated profits and profits re-invested abroad in

the case of American companies with overseas

operations. Both were henceforth subject to

American taxation. This measure was aimed at

American industry as a whole but it particularly

affected the oil companies, which had the largest

and most diversified overseas activities. By the end

of 1962, oilmen were estimating that their earnings

on foreign invested capital, which in 1955 had

equalled 30 %, would fall to 15 % as a result of the

measure.21

One of the biggest tax breaks for those dealing

in oil was the 271/2% depletion allowance, a special

provision of the Federal income tax under which oil

producers could treat up to 271/2 % of their income

as exempt from income tax, supposedly to com-

pensate for the depletion of oil reserves. In effect, it

gave the oil industry a lower tax rate than other

industries. In January, 1963, President Kennedy

proposed to Congress that this generous benefit be

reduced. With five billion dollars annual income

from oil and gas in Texas alone, any reduction

would be a sizable figure. Overall, it had been

estimated that U.S. oil interests would forfeit $280

million dollars a year if the depletion allowance was

diminshed.22Naturally that idea was unattractive

to oil producers, especially so in the Lone Star

State. Oilmen there would prefer to see a fellow-

Texan heading the Federal government, and

Lyndon Johnson was an old and dear partisan of

King Oil.

Did Texas oil have a reasonable motive for

wanting John Kennedy removed from office? Yes,

to protect its economic interests, not to mention

general displeasure with Kennedy's liberal policies.

Did Texas Oil have the power and resources to

kill an American President? Obviously it lacked

nothing in the way of financing such an operation;

certainly its wealth could have bought the finest

hitmen in the business to perform the assassination

and place one of Texas' own at the pinnacle of

power.

Could Texas oil interests have manipulated a

cover-up involving Federal agencies and

authorities? Possibly, but to what extent? No

doubt the oil industry carries a great amount of

influence on Capitol Hill and could have influenced

the Johnson White House. But seemingly it would

take the combined wealth of Texas' many oil

barons to purchase the cooperation of the FBI, the

CIA, the Military, the Secret Service and certain

high government officials. Such an expensive

proposition seems beyond the realm of feasibility.

Could Texas oilmen have been powerful

enough to persuade or command some of the

highest officials of our government to perjure

themselves before the American public? Again, the

oil interests lacked the influence to pressure some

government leaders to lie and conceal the truth.

Some of these leaders were too stubborn or too

honest to be bought off.

171

COVER-UP

Thus, while some members of the Texas oil

elite could have been solicited for financial support

of the assassination operation, the oil industry

itself lacked sufficient power to organize and carry

out both phases —the assassination and the cover-

up —of the conspiracy.

WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

FIDEL CASTRO?

Through the years this has been a popular

belief of those who choose not to believe the Warren

Report but have done little or no reading or study

about the assassination. The Castro concept is

based largely on the Commission's contention that

Lee Oswald had an "avowed commitment to

Marxism and communism" and was engaged in

pro-Castro activity such as the Fair Play For Cuba

Committee.

In view of the many attempts by our govern-

ment to kill him, the idea of Castro as instigator of

Kennedy's death is not unreasonable. In

November, 1975, the Senate Select Committee to

Study Governmental Operations With Respect To

Intelligence Activities (commonly known as the

Church Committee) reported that from 1960 to

1965 there were at least eight plots involving the

CIA to assassinate Castro.23Although some of the

plots did not advance beyond the stage of planning

and preparation, one plot involving the use of

underworld figures reportedly twice progressed to

the point of sending poison pills to Cuba and

dispatching teams to commit the deed. Another

plot involved furnishing weapons and other

assassination devices to a Cuban dissident. The

proposed killing devices included high-powered

rifles, poison pills, poison cigars, poison pens,

exploding seashells, deadly bacterial powders and a

contaminated diving suit.24Ironically, one of the

plots occurred on November 22, 1963, when a CIA

official offered a poison pen to a Cuban for use

against Castro, while at the same time Kennedy

was being murdered in Dallas and an emissary sent

by him was meeting with Castro to explore the

possibility of improved relations between the

United States and Cuba.25

On March 3, 1967, columnist Jack Anderson

detailed six alleged CIA-Mafia attempts to kill the

bearded dictator between March, 1961 and

January, 1963. In an August,1975 letter to Senator

George McGovern, Castro himself placed the

number of attempts at 24; he said the attempts

were engineered by anti-Castro Cuban exiles

and/or the CIA.26

It is reasonable, then, that as a cover act of

retaliation and as a self-protective device, The

Beard could have turned the tables and arranged

the death of Kennedy. That supposition, though, is

unlikely, for as Castro himself has said, "We had

troubles with the Kennedy administration, but it is

monstrous even to contemplate that we would

murder the head of state of any nation, to say

nothing as to be so foolish as to incur the wrath of a

great power like the United States."27Indeed, had

Castro been linked to JFK's murder (and Oswald's

background no doubt caused more than a few

raised eyebrows), swift retaliation by this country

would follow; Cuba would be invaded, the island

annihilated and Castro killed.

Did Castro have reasonable motive for

wanting John Kennedy removed from office?

Possibly, in retaliation • for attempts by our

government to kill him, but would Kennedy's death

insure a halt to attempts on Castro? (No, for they

continued during the Johnson administration). Nor

would Castro risk his own death, had he been

linked to JFK's murder.

Did Castro have the power and resources to

kill an American President? Yes, a Cuban

assassination team could have accomplished the

assassination with relative ease.

Could Castro have manipulated a cover-up

involving Federal agencies and authorities? No.

On the contrary, the government would use a

Castro-link to the assassination as a legitimate

pretext for a long-planned, long-awaited invasion

of Cuba.

Could Castro have been powerful enough to

persuade or command some of the highest officials

of our government to perjure themselves before the

American public? No, federal officials would not lie

and maintain a decade-plus cover-up for Castro.

We conclude that it is illogical to consider

Fidel Castro as a suspect in instigating the murder

of John Kennedy.

WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

ORGANIZED CRIME?

What motives would the Mafia have for killing

the President? In 1933 mobsters Meyer Lansky and

Santo Trafficante had arranged a deal with Cuban

dictator Fulgencio Batista, whereby the Syndicate

would develop the island's tourist industry—not a

difficult task, because of the island's location 90

miles from the Florida coast—while Batista's

regime would protect the Mob's heroin interests.

The dictator's payoff over the years was estimated

by law enforcement agencies to be in the hundreds

of millions of dollars.28After World War II Mafia

chieftain "Lucky" Luciano, the Syndicate's heroin

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

172

pioneer, designated Cuba to be the Mob's base of

operation in the Caribbean.29As long as Batista

continued to receive his graft through a private

Swiss bank account, the Mob was free to control

the casinos. They made a killing off tourists who

dropped an estimated $100 million yearly at

Havana's various casinos, as well as narcotic traffic

into the U.S.

The Syndicate's utopia ended rather suddenly,

though, when in 1957 a bearded lawyer named

Fidel Castro and a handful of rebels came out of the

Cuban hills, marched on Havana and overthrew the

Batista regime. Announcing his allegiance to

Communism, Castro became less than cordial to

Mobster elements in Cuba. They were ordered off

the island, their casinos shut down and the heroin

connection cut off. The Mafia chieftains were

outraged at the loss of untold hundreds of millions

of dollars annually, and a $1 million dollar reward

was put out for Castro's hide.30

Anxious to re-establish its various gambling

and narcotics operations in Cuba, the Mob awaited

impatiently, hoping the U. S. government would

orchestrate the removal of Castro; but President

Kennedy was hesitant in giving the go-ahead to

have the bearded dictator killed. The Central

Intelligence Agency, though, didn't wait for

Kennedy's approval. Not wanting to chance ex-

posing its own operatives in a Castro assassination

attempt, the Agency turned to organized crime to

recruit professional killers. Colonel Sheffield

Edwards, Director of the CIA's Office of Security,

approached former-FBI agent and Howard Hughes

executive Robert Maheu to act as a go-between for

the Agency and the Mob.31An offer to kill Castro

was made to mobsters John Rosselli and Sam

Giancana.* Testifying in 1975 before the Church

Committee, Rosselli went into detail about the

plots to kill Castro; he admitted under oath to

being involved in the planning and operation of at

least six attempts against the dictator between

1961 and 1963.32

The Mafia was confident it would be back in

business in Cuba after the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs

* On June 19, 1975, shortly before he was to testify before the

Church Committee about his involvement in the CIA plots to

assassinate Castro, 67-year old Momo Salvatore (Sam)

Giancana, was found murdered in his home. He had been shot

seven times.33It has been pointed out that Giancana survived

fifty years of gangsterism, disputes with the Al Capone mob,

inter-family Mafia fights as head of the Chicago Mafia, bad

health, the federal penitentiary, and constant surveillance. He

did not, however, survive his association with the Central

Intelligence Agency.34

invasion. The invasion however was a miserable

failure. This was due largely to JFK's refusal to

allow U. S. planes to provide air-cover for the

invading troops. The Syndicate chieftains were

furious. Two years later the President further

incurred the wrath of organized crime with his

peace-making policies in Southeast Asia, where

CIA-supported dictators allowed the Mob's heroin

and opium operations to flourish. This

arrangement involved agreements with several

generations of the top officials in the South

Vietnamese government, who in turn, received a.

share of the profits as payoff. The Communists, on

the other hand, seeking control of South Vietnam,

were opposed to narcotics traffic and had

eliminated it entirely from areas already under their

control. A Communist victory in South Vietnam

meant an eventual end to the Mob's heroin

operations there and a resultant loss of billions of

dollars.35By 1963 President Kennedy had decided

against involving U. S. troops in a land war in

Southeast Asia and initiated plans for the with-

drawal of all American soldiers and advisors from

South Vietnam. The Mafia was not happy.

Organized crime faced problems domestically,

as well. Attorney General Robert Kennedy was

zealously conducting a self-declared, all-out war on

this facet of American life. Under his direction the

Justice Department was pursuing Syndicate

elements left and right, with only token assistance

from J. Edgar Hoover's Federal Bureau of In-

vestigation. Until the 1963 appearance of Joseph

Valachi before a Senate Committee, Hoover had

refused to acknowledge the existence of the

Mafia.36RFK meant business. Chicago's Sam

Giancana had gone to jail for contempt of court.

New Orleans chieftain Carlos Marcello had been

deported, some say illegally, at Kennedy's orders.

After a quest of nearly ten years, RFK was to nail

James R. Hoffa, Teamsters president and mobster-

associate. He was indicted and later sent to prison

for defrauding the Teamsters pension fund of

almost $2 million dollars.37

Others victimized by Kennedy's campaign

against organized crime included Joey Aiuppa, Lou

Gallo, and Moses Joseph. In the fall of 1963 RFK

became ambitious and turned his attention to the

corruption of Las Vegas; his plan to wage a full-

scale attack on the entire state of Nevada38never

came about though. It ended with the death of his

brother in Dallas.

Unlike past Attorneys General, Robert had

the power to wage his crusade because of the

backing and support of his brother's high office.

Unlike other politicians, RFK could not be bought

173

COVER-UP

off or swayed by the promise of help in advancing

his own political career. By being born a Kennedy

he was automatically a millionaire, and as long as

his brother was President he needed no outside

political help. It seemed that murder would be only

saving grace for organized crime, and Mafia

chieftains no doubt contemplated it. In his book

The Grim Reapers, Ed Reid describes a 1962

meeting at which Carlos Marcello complained to

associates about harassment from the Attorney

General, at one point shouting, "Take the stone out

of my shoe!" Later Marcello is quoted as saying,

"Don't worry about that little Bobby son-of-a-

b----. He's going to be taken care of."39

Before he was sent up the river by the At-

torney General, Jimmy Hoffa had privately voiced

his intention to destroy, quite literally, Robert

Kennedy. Hoffa is quoted as saying, "He'll be an

easy target, always driving around Washington in

that convertible with that big black dog. All we

need is some plastic explosives tossed in with him,

and that will finish him off."40Later, the plan was

changed and called for Kennedy and his entire

family to be blown up at their residence.41 That

idea was eventually dropped altogether.

It would seem, then, that the Mafia's vendetta

lay primarily with Robert, and not his brother. In

any event, both had aroused the anger of the Mob

and the outlook for organized crime was bleak as

long as the brothers Kennedy remained in power. If

Robert became the victim of Mafia hit-men,

ceaseless reprisal from his brother was a certainty.

But if John became the target, two birds could be

killed with one stone. One, the President would be

removed, thereby opening the door for new policies

toward Southeast Asia and a new attitude toward

assassination attempts against Castro. Two, the

Attorney General would be on the way out, for the

intense, mutual antipathy between Lyndon

Johnson and Robert Kennedy was no secret.

Recalling that Eugene Hale Brading (alias Jim

Braden), a Mafia courier, was arrested in Dealey

Plaza, and that a key figure in the assassination

scenario, Jack Ruby,* had long and extensive ties

* A list of some of Ruby's associates between 1924 and 1963

reads like a Who's Who of organized crime: Frank ''The En-

forcer" Nitti, cousin and heir to Al "Scarface" Capone; Capone

himself, for whom young Ruby ran errands; Chicago mobsters

Dave Yaras and Lenny Patrick; Paul "Needle Nose" Labriola

and Jimmy Weinberg, both involved in the Chicago Syndicate's

labor operations; Lewis J. McWillie, who managed the Mafia-

operated Tropicana Casino in Havana; Murray "The Camel"

Humphreys, one of Nitty's top aides; Deutsch Maylor

("Dusty Miller"), head of the Teamsters Union southern

conference.42

to mobster elements, organized crime must be

seriously considered as a prime suspect in

speculation about who killed Kennedy.

Did organized crime have a reasonable motive

for wanting John Kennedy removed from office?

Yes, for the reasons listed two paragraphs earlier.

Did organized crime possess the power and

resources to kill an American President? Yes.

Obviously the Mafia was not lacking in money or

triggermen.

Could organized crime have manipulated a

cover-up involving Federal agencies and

authorities? Could organized crime prolong the

cover-up for more than a decade? Certainly it would

have had the cooperation of the Central Intelligence

Agency, its partner in plotting Castro's demise.

Possibly J. Edgar Hoover would have cooperated.

But could the Mafia maintain the cover-up for ten

years by threats and/or bribes? Could organized

crime have been powerful enough to persuade or

command some of the highest officials of our

government to perjure themselves to the American

public? Like the Right-Wing or Texas Oil, the

power of the Mafia has never effectively reached

high into our entire government structure. Would

federal officials cower before the Mafia and cover-

up evidence of a Mafia assassination? Could all

these officials be threatened or bribed? We think

not.

Therefore, while mobster elements were almost

certainly merged into the assassination plot by the

planners, we do not feel that the plot originated

with organized crime. Bearing in mind that the

cover-up, the lies and deceit surrounding the death

of President Kennedy have been maintained by

Federal authorities, we must consider the

possibility that elements of the Government itself

may have ordained the assassination. Remem-

bering that suppression of evidence and truth is

proper grounds for suspicion, we now move within

the governmental structure in search of the force

responsible for the murder of JFK.

WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

THE SECRET SERVICE?

Quite often, when a coup d' etat is ac-

complished, the bodyguards of the Chief of State

are recruited by the instigators of the coup to kill

the man whom they are assigned to protect. Ad-

mittedly, the very idea of the American Secret

Service consenting to help murder a U. S.

President borders on the edge of absurdity, and

certainly there is no evidence that the plot to kill

John Kennedy originated with his bodyguards.

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy? 174

And yet, there are several incidents which suggest

that at least some members of the Secret Service

knew in advance that the assassination was to

occur.

It would be highly desirable for any group

plotting the murder of the President to have the

cooperation of the Service or elements thereof in

coordinating the actual attempt, particularly in a

situation like Dallas, which involved a motorcade

in open cars through a downtown area. The

assistance of Secret Service personnel would be

invaluable in providing information concerning the

arrangements of the President's trip and the

security precautions to be taken by federal and

local police.

The route from Love Field to the Trade Mart

luncheon site—including the fateful detour through

Dealey Plaza—was chosen by Secret Service

representatives (headed by Agent Winston

Lawson) in conjunction with the Dallas Police.43

Approval for the route was given despite the ob-

vious danger presented by the plaza, a logical site

for an assassination attempt. It was a breach of

Secret Service regulations that permitted the

motorcade to make a double-turn from Main Street

onto Houston, and from Houston onto Elm." The

first turn was at a 90-degree angle and the second a

dangerous 120-degree turn—definitely contrary to

any Secret Service practice permitted until that

time. Since Dealey Plaza was the most dangerous

spot on the entire Texas trip, that particular turn

should have been expressly forbidden. This area

was surrounded by five tall buildings and contained

walls, decorative concrete structures, a wooden

stockade fence and plenty of foliage, all of which

could provide necessary cover for the assassins.

The hairpin turn onto Elm Street was perfect for

the waiting riflemen because the limousine almost

had to stop in order to negotiate the turn, and was

moving very slowly (8-11 miles per hour) coming

out of the turn.

Another breach of Secret Service regulations

permitted the President and the Vice-President to

be in close proximity in the same city, in the same

motorcade, and both in open, slow-moving

vehicles. This practice was unheard of until that

day.45As we shall see, this arrangement may have

been intentional and pre-planned, and if so, served

its purpose well.

In view of the apprehension surrounding the

trip to Dallas, it is odd that the chief of the Secret

Service detail remained in Washington; Jerry Behn

was dining in the capital city when his President

was murdered 1400 miles away.46There had been

The Altgens photo shows Lyndon Johnson's Secret Service

detail [fourth automobile, non-convertible] reacting to the first

volley of shots. Kennedy's guards, directly behind him in an

open vehicle, watch calmly as the President obviously reacts to

bullet wounds.

COVER-UP175

great concern about Kennedy's visit to notoriously

hostile Dallas. Adlai Stevenson, who had ex-

perienced first-hand the wrath of city's radical

right-wing citizenry, advised JFK not to make the

trip. Friends, aides, congressmen and Texas

Democratic leaders pleaded with Kennedy to cancel

the Dallas stop.47

The Secret Service had foiled two very recent

assassination plots in Chicago and Miami. The

FBI had been advised on November that an at-

tempt on the President's life would be made when

he reached Dallas.48There is speculation that this

information was conveyed by Lee Harvey Oswald

in his capacity as an informer for the FBI. And yet,

the President's chief bodyguard did not bother to

accompany the Chief Executive into that city.

It is curious that Lyndon Johnson's Secret

Service men, riding in a closed car, reacted while

those guarding the President were motionless, even

though they were in an open vehicle.

The photograph by James Altgens shows the

Secret Service detail assigned to the Vice-President

reacting 3.6 seconds into the shooting; Agent

_Thomas Johns, directly behind Johnson's

limousine, can be seen opening his car door and

preparing to jump out. But directly behind the

President, most of his bodyguards watch passively

as their boss strangles on a bullet in his throat; two

of them have turned their heads and appear to be

looking at the doorway of the School Book

Depository. Frames from the Zapruder film

(published in the November 25, 1966 issue of Life

magazine) also show the seeming lack of concern on

the part of the agents, who appear to be observing

the incident with only mild interest.

The lack of response may have been due to

5630 dulled reflexes after a night of carousing in Fort

r. Worth. By their own admission, no less

athan ninecoc.-00)

of the agents assigned to the President detail

went to the Fort Worth Press Club and drank beer

and mixed drinks.49From there seven of them

proceeded to The Cellar, a nightspot operated by

Pat Kirkwood, an associate of Jack Ruby.56 Most

of them were there until 3:00 a.m. and one did not

leave until 5:00 a.m.51This was yet another breach

of Secret Service regulations, since agents on travel

status are expressly forbidden to consume alcoholic

beverages .52

The fatigue was clearly evident later that day,

for not until Kennedy's brains were blown out did

the agents react. Even, then, the agent assigned to

Jacqueline Kennedy exhibited the only full

response; Clint Hill reached the limousine 2.6

5-Ecf"

sio,t)

seconds after JFK's head exploded.* Hill may have

been disobeying orders in racing to help the

president. Agent John Ready started to run to the 1

President's aid and was ordered to stop by Emory

Roberts, the senior agent in the follow-up car.54

Driver William Greer could have saved

Kennedy's life had he accelerated the limousine

throught the underpass; the huge Lincoln was

equipped with a specially built engine designed for

rapid acceleration.55He failed to react to the

sound of gunfire and to the siren of the follow-up

car.56Greer, 54, told the Warren Commission that

he never looked back at the President, but merely

glanced at Governor Connally.57But the Zapruder

film clearly shows that Greer looked back, not once

but twice; the second time he continued to stare

into the back seat until JFK received the fatal

shots. Only then did Greer face forward, crouch

and speed away through the underpass.

With their non-reaction, the President's driver

and the six agents riding directly behind Kennedy

bear heavy responsibility for the success of the

ambush. These men were highly trained, ex-

perienced agents, and their failure to respond must

be viewed with suspicion. Most especially, the

actions of William Greer and Emory Roberts are

cause for raised eyebrows.

Too, there is the mystery of men presenting

Secret Service credentials in Dealey Plaza shortly

after the President was shot. Presumably the

credentials were false and had been supplied to each

conspirator in the plaza. But thanks to the

disinterest of the Warren Commission, we have to

wonder if perhaps true Secret Service represen-

tatives were present at the kill site as accomplices

in the assassination.

Based on what we have reviewed here, the

Secret Service as an organization can be ruled out

as instigating the assassination. However, there

does exist the possibility that some members of

this body may have had prior knowledge of what

would happen in Dallas and may have performed

assignments designed to insure the success of the

assassination.

Did the Secret Service have a reasonable

motive for wanting John Kennedy removed from

office? No reasonable motive can be discerned.

Did the Secret Service have the power and

* In December 1975 Hill took early retirement from the Secret

Service because of emotional problems stemming from the '

assassination. He said his doctors say he has a "severe

neurological problem caused by what has happened in the past

and they've recommended psychiatric help . . . they trace it all

back to 1963."53

—

177

COVER-UP

see it would be in the interest to get rid of

this man but why would it be in their interest

to say he is clearly the only guilty one? I

mean I don't see that argument that you

raise particularly shows an interest.

Mr. Rankin: They (the FBI) would like to

have us fold up and quit.

Rep. Boggs: This closes the case, you see.

Don't you see?

Mr. Dulles: Yes, I see that.

Mr. Rankin: They found the man. There is

nothing more to do. The Commission sup-

ports their conclusions, and we can go on

home and that is the end of it.

Mr. Dulles: But that puts the burden right

on them. If he was not the killer, and they

employed him, they are already it, you see.

So your argument is correct if they are sure

that this is going to close the case, but if it

don't close the case, they are worse off than

ever by doing this.

Rep. Boggs: Yes, I would think so. And of

course, we are all even gaining in the realm of

speculation. I don't even like to see this

being taken down.

Mr. Dulles: Yes, I think this record ought to

be destroyed. Do you think we need a record

of this?

Mr. Rankin: I don't, except that we said we

would have records of meetings and so we

called the reporter in the formal way. If you

think what we have said here should not be

upon the record, we can have it done that

way. Of course it might . . . .

Mr. Dulles: I am just thinking of sending

around copies and so forth. The only copies

of this record should be kept right there.

Rep. Boggs: I would hope that none of these

records are circulated to anybody . . . .59

The Commission seemed convinced that the

Bureau was deliberately leaking information to the

press to build the lone assassin case quickly and

decisively in the public mind. They reasoned that

the FBI's haste to close the case stemmed from its

failure to inform the Secret Service and Dallas

Police of Oswald's presence in Dallas prior to

Kennedy's visit.

The transcript of the January 27, 1964 session

reveals that the members seemed terrified of FBI

Director J. Edgar Hoover; for two hours they

discussed ways of inquiring about the informant

rumor. Indeed, they spent four months debating

just how to approach the Director for a disclaimer

that would convince the public. Initially, they

decided that a formal denial would not suffice, after

being told by Dulles that Hoover would probably

lie if Oswald was in fact an informer. Dulles con-

fided that during his tenure as CIA director he

would have lied under oath to anyone except the

President, if he thought it was in the interest of the

nation or the Agency.60

Their dilemma was a choice between having

the public reject Hoover's word that Oswald was

not an informer, and incurring the Director's wrath

if they tried to conduct an investigation of the

charges, Hoover, they feared, might feel he was

being investigated if they requested documentary

evidence that he was telling the truth. Finally, the

members voted unanimously to let General Counsel

Rankin approach Hoover in whatever manner he

thought best. As expected, the Director flatly

denied the rumor and the matter (at least as far as

the Commission was concerned) was dropped

entirely.

During this meeting the members continued to

voice suspicions about the Bureau's anxiousness to

close the case:

Rankin: They (the FBI) have no problem.

They have decided that it was Oswald who

committed the assassination, they have

decided that no one else was involved, they

have decided

Russell: They have tried the case and

reached a verdict on every count.

Boggs: You have put your finger on it.

McCloy: They are a little less certain in the

supplementals than they were in the first.

Rankin: Yes, but they are still there. They

have decided the case, and we are going to

have maybe a thousand further inquiries that

we can say the Commission has to know all

these things before it can pass on this.

And I think their reaction would probably

be, "Why do you want all that. It is clear."

Russell: "You have our statement, What else

do you want?"

McCloy: Yes, "We know who killed cock

robin." That is the point. It isn't only who

killed cock robin.61 *

• It was during this session that Rankin made the now-famous

remark, "We do have a dirty rumor that is very bad for the

Commission . . . and it must be wiped out insofar as it is

possible to do so by this Commission." The transcript was

obtained in mid-1974 by Harold Weisberg after he filed a

Freedom of Information lawsuit. The January 27 transcript

with all its shocking revelations is printed in its entirety in

Whitewash IV: JFK Assassination Transcript.

poi

1.1

—

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy? 182

that. They cannot be accused of anything.

They approached it in a very clever, con-

trived way ."93

That allegation was corroborated by her

brother-in-law, Robert Oswald:

Oswald: Marina had recognized this one FBI

agent as a man who had come to the Paines'

home in Irving, Texas, and perhaps at

another location where they might have lived

in Dallas, or the surrounding territory, and

had questioned Lee on these occasions.

Jenner: In the home?

Oswald: In or outside of the home, I do not

know whether it took place on the inside—

but within the immediate grounds of the

home, at least.

Dulles: And this was early in 1963? Prior,

anyway to November 22, 1963, was it not?

Oswald: Yes, sir, that is correct. And that

this particular one agent—Not the Mr.

Brown I have referred to, but the other

gentleman that I do not recall his name—she

had an aversion to speaking to him because

she was of the opinion that he had harassed

Lee in his interviews, and my observations of

this at this time, at this particular interview,

was attempting to start— I would say this

was certainly so. His manner was very harsh,

sir . . . It was quite evident there was a

harshness there, and that Marina did not

want to speak to the FBI at that time. And

she was refusing to. And they were insisting,

sir. And they implied in so many words, as I

sat there—if I might state—with Secret

Service Agent Gary Seals, of Mobile,

Alabama—we were opening the first batch of

mail . . . and we were perhaps just four or

five feet away from where they were at-

tempting this interview, and it came to my

ears that they were implying that if she did

not cooperate with the FBI agent there, that

this would perhaps . . . in so many words,

that they would perhaps deport her from the

United States and back to Russia."94

This is only one of several instances of FBI

intimidation of witnesses. Recall that Richard

Randolph Carr (Chapter 1) was told rather than

asked what he had witnessed during the

assassination. Agents told another to "keep your

g d mouth shut."95Jean Hill, who saw a manl

fleeing from the grassy knoll after the last shot,

told Mark Lane, ". . . the FBI was here for days.

They practically lived here. They just didn't like

what I told them I saw and heard when the

President was assassinated." She declined to give

Lane a filmed interview because,

"For two years I have told the truth, but I

have two children to support and I am a

public school teacher. My principal said it

would be best not to talk about the

assassination, and I just can't go through it

all again. I can't believe the Warren Report.

I know it's all a lie, because I was there when

it happened, but I can't talk about it

anymore because I don't want the FBI here

constantly and I want to continue to teach

here. I hope you don't think I'm a coward,

but I cannot talk about the case anymore. "96

The FBI at the Texas Theatre

No less than 15 Dallas policemen converged on

the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff one hour and 15

minutes after the assassination,97believing the

killer of fellow-officer J. D. Tippit was inside. One

of the many mysteries of that day is the fact that

FBI agent Robert Barrett accompanied the police

to the theatre and participated in the apprehension

of Oswald.98Why, little more than an hour after

the assassination, was an FBI agent assisting in a

local police case involving a possible suspect in the

Tippit murder? Barrett was not called as a witness

before the Commission.

The FBI and Jack Ruby

In one of his few candid acts toward the

Commission, J. Edgar Hoover admitted that the

Bureau contacted Jack Ruby on nine occasions

during 1959 to develop him as an informant. This

admission, in a letter dated June 9, 1964, was

suppressed by the Commission. Declassified in

1972, the letter said Ruby "expressed a willingness

to furnish information" regarding organized crime

in Dallas.99The Director added, however, that

Ruby "furnished no information whatever and

further contacts with him were discontinued.,,wo

That assertion is difficult to accept, in view of the

fact that there were at least nine separate meetings

after Ruby agreed to furnish information.

Jack Ruby had been an informant for the FBI:

was the man he killed serving in that capacity?

Presence of Hoover in Dallas on Nov. 21, 1963

On the evening of November 21, 1963, a party

was held in the Dallas home of millionaire Clint

Murchison, Sr. It is a little-known fact that J.

Edgar Hoover secretly flew into Dallas and was

present in the Murchison mansion for several hours

before returning to Washington, D.C. in the small

hours of the morning.101Although Murchison and

Hoover were old friends and business partners, it

MAL t4

ht y

183

COVER-UP

seems unlikely that an important and busy man

like the Director would fly that distance for a mere

party.

This gathering in the Murchison home

becomes even more suspect when it is learned that

among those in attendance was none other than

Richard M. Nixon himself.102As mentioned in a

previous chapter, Nixon apparently offered a false

pretext for his presence in Dallas on November 20,

21 and 22. Why was the former-Vice-President

really in Dallas? Why did the Director of the FBI

fly to Dallas and return to Washington in such

L secrecy?

Hoover's Power

Any group contemplating the murder of the

President seemingly would have required the

assistance of John Edgar Hoover; he was simply

too powerful and too valuable to be overlooked by

the planners. Once the investigation was taken out

of the hands of Dallas and Texas officials, it was

apparent the FBI would head any official in-

vestigation into Kennedy's murder. The

cooperation of Hoover would be imperative, unless

the force behind the assassination was so awesome

and so powerful that it was certain it could control

him.

Hoover was the FBI. He had been its Director

for 39 years, and in that time he had acquired

monstrous power; he ranked as one of the most

powerful civilians in Washington. The primary

source of his power was no secret; it has been

explained in simple terms by William C. Sullivan, a

30-year veteran of the Bureau and for a time its

number-three man:

"He was very, very powerful, un-

believably powerful. We don't ever want

another man in that position of power

again. He was in there such a long time,

and he gathered all the dirt that was

present on people in high-ranking

positions, all the irregularities, not

necessarily sex alone, but financial

irregularities or political chicanery. It

doesn't have to be something of a sexual

nature, although that would be included.

He was a genius at implying that he knew

all this information, and sometimes he

didn't know as much as he implied, but it

didn't matter. Once it reached them that

this implication had been made, damn it,

they had a guilty conscience, and they may

have done something that even Hoover

didn't know about, but they assumed that

he did know. That placed him in a position

of power, and they were all afraid to get rid

of him. I know Nixon was actually afraid of

him. Knowledge is powerful, and he had

knowledge of the most damaging kind,

knowledge of people's misbehavior."103

That power of knowledge was mentioned by

President Richard Nixon in one of the White House

transcripts of a tape recording made in the Oval

Office in a February 28, 1973 meeting between the

President and John Dean:

Nixon:

(expletive deleted) Hoover was my crony.

He was closer to me than Johnson, actually

although Johnson used him more. But as

for Pat Gray, (expletive deleted) I never

saw him.

Dean:

While it might have been a lot of blue

chips to the late Director, I think we would

have been a lot better off during this whole

Watergate thing if he had been alive.

Because he knew how to handle that

Bureau—knew how to keep them in

bounds.*

Nixon:

Well, Hoover performed. He would have

fought. That was the point. He would have

defied a few people. He would have scared

them to death. He has a file on

everybody.104

No doubt a massive sigh of relief echoed

through the District of Columbia when Hoover, 77,

died in May, 1972. Following his death, 35 filing

drawers containing Hoover's personal files were

moved from his office to his home and subsequently

destroyed by Helen Gandy, Hoover's long-time

secretary; the destruction process took more than

two months .1°5

To many, Hoover was Mr. America. For

decades the Hoover legend, perpetuated by the

FBI's public relations office, continued to grow

until the man became somewhat a demigod. To

speak of him in derogatory terms was nothing short

of blasphemy, and anyone doing so might be

suspected of having Communist ties.

But in 1975 the legend began to crumble and

Americans began to see the type of man Hoover

really was. Testimony before a Senate sub-

committee revealed the faults in Hoover's character

and the shocking instances of lawless acts carried

out at his direction. Time magazine cited these

examples:

Instead of insulating his bureau from

* Emphasis added.

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

186

his home state, and realizing that he was to suffer

the humiliation of being dropped from the

Democratic ticket in 1964 in favor of Senator

George Smathers of Florida,111would a man like

Johnson consent to cooperate with men conspiring

to kill Kennedy?

Two incidents incriminating to Johnson oc-

curred on November 22 and 23, 1963; one suggests

that he might have had prior knowledge of the

assassination, the other that he might have made

an agreement to protect Kennedy's killers.

LBJ Ducked in Dealey Plaza.

For years the story has been told and retold

that when the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza,

Secret Service agent Rufus Youngblood, riding in

the front seat of LBJ's car, threw himself into the

back seat and used his body to shield the Vice

President.112We now know otherwise. A respected

and reliable South Texas history professor was

personally told the true story by Senator Ralph

Yarborough, who was riding in the Johnson vehicle

that day. According to the former-Senator, both

Johnson and Youngblood ducked down when the

shooting began and the agent never left the front

seat. Johnson and Youngblood then communicated

with each other by inter-vehicle telephone

throughout the high-speed ride to Parkland

Hospital. Yarborough, the source said, has been

appalled for years at Johnson's version of the

story, a story which he knows to be an absolute

lie.113

The fact that he witnessed the Vice President's

reaction may explain his treatment by Federal

authorities during the official inquiry into the

assassination. Yarborough related that experience

on ABC's "Goodnight America" television

program:

"Well, when I wrote them you see, they

came over then, a couple fellows to see me

sometime after that and they walked in like

they were a couple of deputy sheriffs and I

was a bank robber. * Caught me walking

out, 'What have you got to say about this?'

I didn't like the attitude. As a senator I felt

insulted, .and they went off and wrote up

something and brought it back for me to

sign that I refused to sign. I threw it in the

drawer and let it lie there for weeks. And

they had on the last sentence on there to

swear to it. 'This is all I know about the as-

sassination.' They wanted me to sign this

thing, then say this is all I know. * Of

* Emphasis added.

course, I would never have signed it. Fi-

nally after some weeks went by they began

to bug me, 'You're holding this up, you're

holding this up,' and demanding I sign the

report. So I typed one up myself and put

basically what I told you about how the

cars didn't take off and I said in there 'I

don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but for

the protection of future Presidents they

should be trained to take off when there's a

shot fired,' and I sent that over. That's

dated July 10, 1964, after the assassi-

nation. To my surprise, when the volumes

were finally printed and came out, I was

surprised at how many people down at the

White House didn't file their affidavits till

after the date, after that of mine the 10th of

July, waiting to see what I was going to say

before they'd file theirs.* I began to lose

confidence then that's further eroded with

time. About two weeks ago in Texas, I

stated I thought there should be another

investigation, not reopen the same com-

mission, but another investigation."114

Either Mr. Johnson or Mr. Yarborough has

lied about what actually happened in the Vice

Presidential limousine during the assassination;

under the circumstances, we are inclined to believe

Senator Yarborough.*

Orders From the Top.

The other incident incriminating to Johnson

was learned from private remarks by a retired

official of the Dallas Police Department.

The day after the Zapruder film of the

assassination had been shown on national

television for the first time (March, 1975), retired

police captain Will Fritz and a small circle of old

political cronies and businessmen were conversing

over lunch when the discussion turned to the TV

presentation of the Zapruder film and the renewed

interest in the JFK murder. Fritz began to

reminisce about his role in the events of that

terrible weekend. Fritz told his friends that as Chief

of the Homicide Division, he had been steadily and

thoroughly investigating the President's murder,

despite interference and opposition from Federal

authorities; he received several phone calls between

Lee Oswald's Friday afternoon arrest and Saturday

afternoon, November 23, urging him to cease the

investigation because, "You have your man." The

* Emphasis added.

** A witness to the assassination, Jean Hill, made this remark

to a researcher, "Isn't it odd that the Vice President crouched

down before the first shot?"115

—

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

188

A Fable: Welcome to the Club

In Texas, the story is told of the farmer who

owned a well-trained mule. One day a friend needed

to plow his field and asked to borrow this mule,

whose obedience was known throughout the

county. The farmer agreed to loan the animal, with

these instructions: "Don't curse him; don't raise

your voice and don't use a whip on him. Talk firmly

but gently."

The following day the farmer visited his friend

to see how much progress had been made in the

field. He found the friend sitting under a tree, a

frustrated look on his face; he complained that the

mule refused to work.

"You didn't curse him, did you?" asked the

farmer.

"No."

"You didn't raise your voice or whip him did

you?"

"No, I talked just as sweet as I could."

"Well, let's see what the problem is."

The farmer picked up a dead cedar branch and

approached the mule; he wielded the club over his

head and brought it down with great force, striking

the mule between the eyes and driving it to its

knees. The stunned animal wobbled to its feet and

immediately began to pull the plow.

The astonished friend said, `:But you told me

all I had to do was talk nice to that mule."

"Yes," the farmer replied, "but first you have

to get his attention."

On November 22, 1963, the true power in this

nation got the attention of Lyndon Johnson and all

who were to follow, by delivering a fatal blow to our

Chief of State. The impact of that tremendous blow

has been and will forever be felt by every individual

who seeks this country's highest office. Five years

later the "club" was brought out again, and the

powers that be again demonstrated on June 5, 1968

that a stubborn "mule" will not be tolerated. John

and Robert Kennedy were unacceptable to the true

power of this nation. Edward Kennedy and George

Wallace, as they now realize, are likewise unac-

ceptable to those who run this country. The echo of

those rifles in Dealey Plaza and their everpresent

threat, remain a mechanism of control over the

American government . . . .

Based on Johnson's reaction to the shots,

three things seem possible:

(1) He knew the assassination was to occur in

Dallas or

(2) He knew Kennedy was to be killed but

never dreamed it would be done in his home state of

Texas, or

(3) He knew Kennedy could be killed and was

filled with terror when the brutal act was com-

mitted, especially because it was done in his

presence. Perhaps he realized he had been placed in

that motorcade for a reason. Perhaps someone

powerful thought it important that the man who

would take Kennedy's place hear and remember the

sound of those rifles.

The third alternative is our choice, and in our

opinion, LBJ was remembering the sound of those

rifles when on March 31, 1968, he announced he

would not seek re-election. In a televised address to

the nation, Johnson reported that the United

States "is taking a very important unilateral act of

de-escalation (of the Vietnam war) which could—

and I fervently pray will—lead to mutual moves to

reduce the level of violence." Laying his notes

aside, LBJ looked solemnly into the camera and

surprised the entire nation: ". . . accordingly, I will

not seek, nor will I accept, the nomination of my

party for another term as your President."126

He was uncharacteristically announcing he

was through. Johnson was serving notice that he

had had all that one man could take of his ordeal,

that he was weary of living under the guns of the

conspiracy.

Five days later those guns rang out again and

an opponent of the Vietnam nightmare was forever

silenced: Martin Luther King. Exactly two months

later the guns claimed the second Kennedy brother.

Did Lyndon Johnson have a reasonable motive

for wanting John Kennedy removed from office?

Yes, if he truly wanted to be President that badly.

Did Lyndon Johnson have the power and

resources to kill his predecessor? Throughout his

long career in Texas and U. S. politics, Johnson no

doubt came in contact with any number of in-

fluential men and groups on whom he could have

relied, had he wished to take that final step to the

pinnacle of political power.

Could Lyndon Johnson have manipulated a

cover-up involving Federal agencies and

authorities, and ensure the continuation of that

cover-up, even after his own death? True, as

President, LBJ had authority over various key

governmental agencies, including the FBI and the

Secret Service. But would these organizations

pledge their allegiance to one man in concealing the

truth about an assassination? Would they pledge

their allegiance to Lyndon Johnson? Just as

Richard Nixon was unable to maintain the cover-up

of Watergate, Johnson would have been unable to

do so with the JFK murder.

Could Lyndon Johnson have been powerful

enough to persuade or command some of the

189 COVER-UP

highest officials of our government to perjure

themselves before the American public? Some no

doubt would have unhesitatingly obeyed the

President of the United States, but Lyndon

Johnson simply did not command that much

respect, and few persons in official Washington

would have perjured themselves for Johnson's

sake. One man could not have engineered such an

accomplishment, unless he was backed by powerful

forces.

Therefore, we conclude that LBJ most likely

did not participate in promoting and/or planning

the assassination of President Kennedy. However,

he did willfully or otherwise become a party to the

ensuing cover-up.

WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC SOURCES?

In the preceding portion of this chapter we

have systematically examined and discounted the

following groups and individuals as suspects in the

assassination: the Right-Wing, Texas oilmen,

Castro, organized crime, the Secret Service,

Hoover's FBI and Lyndon Johnson. In view,

however, of the apparent involvement of elements

of these groups and individuals (in one or both

stages of the conspiracy), we must ponder the

question: What force could be shrewd enough and

powerful enough to structure into the Oswald-

Assassination cover story, alma every element of

the political spectrum both left and right, foreign

and domestic?

Lee Harvey Oswald's background included

membership or contact with the following: the

Communist Party and the FBI; the anti-

communist Socialist Labor Party and the Soviet

Union; the American Civil Liberties Union and the

Dallas ultra-right; the Fair Play For Cuba Com-

mittee and General Edwin Walker; the Socialist

Workers Party and American oil interests; the

Cuban government and the U. S. Marines; the CIA

and the Soviet KGB. Who was large enough and

powerful enough to accomplish such an

arrangement?

What about a foreign plot? For many

Americans this would perhaps be the most

satisfying answer. Did a foreign power murder this

nation's chief executive? We think not. For with

Kennedy's death there would have been no breach

of power, and each and every enemy of America

was aware of this fact. The death of a president

causes no disruption of power to such an extent

that we would face a collapse of governmental

structure. The Constitution outlines a simple

. method for the transfer of power. This method is

sufficient in any situation, whether the President

be removed by election, resignation, impeachment,

illness, natural death or death by assassination.

It is conceded that some foreign powers could,

and in some instances, did have motive for killing

Kennedy. Some of these possible motives are:

(1) A change of U. S. policy toward that

country. (There was no assurance of policy change

with JFK's successor.)

(2) Revenge, would Khrushchev, for instance,

risk his own death in trying to avenge his

humiliation after the Cuban Missile Crisis? We

think not. (As discussed earlier, Fidel Castro surely

would have not.)

Contrary to what some would have us believe,

the assassination of our leader by foreign elements

would not have brought on World War III and

nuclear holocaust. Had it been a foreign plot, it is

probable that U. S. leaders would have quickly

taken the case to the United Nations and the global

news media, proclaiming it a bloody and horren-

dous act of the heathen communist horde (or

whatever group or nation bore responsibility). Had

communist factors,been blamed, the progress of the

socialist system would have immediately regressed

hundreds of years.

We rule out the possibility that the

assassination was a foreign plot. It was, and

continues to be, a domestic conspiracy, hence the

cover-up by and for those with vested interests:

those who perpetrated the crime.

Once we are compelled to the conclusion that

components within the American government

executed their own Chief of State, we are faced with

the question: which faction? Using the systematic

evaluation used throughout this chapter, we can

find only one element which meets the criteria;

this, along with substantiating evidence, answers

the question, "Who killed Kennedy?" We derive no

pleasure in pointing the finger of guilt at this

powerful group within our own land.

WHO KILLED KENNEDY?

THE UNITED STATES MILITARY AND

INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX WITH ITS

INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS?

The Military kill its own Commander-in-Chief?

Perhaps that is not as far fetched as it may sound,

especially when one considers that between the

years 1962 and 1964 there were 16 successful and 12

unsuccessful military coups in different areas of our

globe.127In the years from World War II to 1961

there were no less than 27 major military uprisings

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

190

around the world which swept civilian governments

out of power.128

SUCCESSFUL MILITARY COUP D'ETATS

1962-1964

BURMA

ARGENTINA

PERU

TOGO

IRAQ

PERU

SYRIA

GUATEMALA

EQUADOR

CONGO

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

HONDURAS

VIETNAM

BRAZIL

LAOS

BOLIVIA

March 2, 1962

March 28, 1962

July 18, 1962

January 13, 1963

February 8, 1963

March 3, 1963

March 8, 1963

March 30, 1963

July 11, 1963

August 12, 1963

September 25, 1963

October 3, 1963

November 1, 1963

April 1, 1964

April 19, 1964

November 3, 1964

UNSUCCESSFUL MILITARY COUP D'ETATS

1962-1964

Unprepared for the task that had befallen him,

Harry Truman was unable to recognize the power-

grab made by the Military: His successor, Dwight

D. Eisenhower, no doubt was aware that the

Military was actually running the nation but not

until his term of office ended did he dare voice his

concern. Then, in 1960, there occurred the ac-

cidental election of a peace-seeking, idealistic man,

a former Navy lieutenant who thought he ought to

be President. And for the first time since World

War II the Military Establishment was threatened

by a President who, as Commander-in-Chief, in-

tended to execute that role as he saw fit.

1961-62: THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE

In 1962 the thought of a possible military

takeover of the United States was dominant in the

minds of many public officials, and was a widely

discussed topic. Much of this concern had been

generated by the best-selling novel Seven Days in

May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey'

• Seven Days in May later became a popular movie, made at

the request of President Kennedy, who wanted it filmed as a

a warning to the nation.129

This book, which depicts a U. S. President fighting

a secret military junta that seeks to seize control of

the nation, presents an idea that was taken

somewhat seriously in our nation's capitol. The 15-

year period following World War II had seen the

Military emerge as the dominant force in our

government, and a number of officials, civilian and

former military, had publicly voiced alarm over the

growing power and influence of the Military

Establishment.

In 1961 the Secretary of the Navy in a private

conversation with one of the authors of Seven Days

in May ruminated on the state of the nation;

unknown to him, his thoughts were amplified and

placed in the mind of the fictional President in the

popular novel.

"I'm worried," he said. "Up to 1945, an in-

dividual could have some feeling even in a world

war—that he had some control over his own

existence. But when that atomic bomb exploded

over Hiroshima, something happened. People

began to feel helpless. Now, with hydrogen bombs

all over the world, the individual feels even more at

a loss to help control his own destiny. You can

sense the feeling everywhere."130

The Secretary went on to say that in a

monolithic state, such as Russia, it doesn't matter

much what the individual feels. But in a

democracy, where leaders govern only by the

collective consent of millions of individuals, the

attitude of the single citizen is crucial. If people no

longer believe they can influence events, he argued,

democracy is in danger—and a dictator could take

over. There is no magic in the American system. It

can be preserved only by millions of citizens

working day in and day out to nourish a system

that was then 185 years old. But did Americans

still work at it? Or, he wondered, were they

beginning to give up?131

This man, who headed the most powerful

peacetime navy in history, later resigned that

position, returned to his home state and was

elected governor. Ironically, it was in that capacity

that on November 22, 1963, former-Navy Secretary

John B. Connally became a victim in the six-second

ambush that took the life of President John

Kennedy.

In his farewell address Dwight D. Eisenhower,

military commander-turned-civilian leader, warned

against the increasing power of what he called the

"military-industrial complex." "In the councils of

government," he said, "we must guard against the

acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether

sought or unsought, by the military-industrial

complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy? 192

acquired so much might, power and influence, that

they answered to no one, not even the President of

the United States.

Briefly, let us outline the nature of the conflict

Between President Kennedy and the Military and

Intelligence combine.

(1) The Bay of Pigs.

Situation: An ill-conceived and badly executed

attempt in April, 1961 involving a force of anti-

Castro Cuban exiles trained and directed by the

Central Intelligence Agency, seeking to invade the

island of Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro. This

project was carried out only three months after

Kennedy had taken office but the idea had been

conceived during the Eisenhower administration.

JFK allowed it to proceed with important

modifications limiting the degree of American

support and afterward he accepted "sole respon-

sibility" for the debacle.

Conflict: Kennedy's failure to provide military

support, (Specifically, air cover by U. S. war planes

for the invaders), resulted in the aborted

ingression. Kennedy incurred the wrath and

hostility of both the Pentagon (JFK turned a deaf

ear to pleas from military advisors requesting air

cover for the second phase of the invasion136) and

the CIA (which emerged from the fiasco appearing

incompetent, deceitful and untrustworthy). Later,

the President initiated a thorough house cleaning of

the Agency, demanding the resignation of its

Director (Allen Dulles, later a member of the

Warren Commission) and Deputy Director

(General Charles Cabell, whose brother was mayor

of Dallas at the time of the assassination).137

Kennedy has been quoted as saying that he wished

"to splinter the CIA into 1,000 pieces and scatter it

to the winds."138He was determined to curb the

Agency's power and independence, and discussed

plans to place it under the authority of the At-

torney General, Robert F. Kennedy.139

(2) The Cirban Missile Crisis.

Situation: On October 16, 1962 the President

was shown aerial reconnaissance photographs of

Soviet long-range missile bases under construction

on the island of Cuba, 90 miles from the shores of

Florida. From these bases a nuclear attack could be

launched on much of the United States and the

Western Hemisphere. In a dramatic radio and

television address on October 22, Kennedy an-

nounced a U. S. naval and air quarantine

(blockade) on all offensive weapons bound for

Cuba. He called upon the Cuban government and

the Russians to remove at once, all offensive

weapons from the island. For one very tense week

the world waited as the threat of thermo-nuclear

war and a man-ordained Armageddon seemed

imminent. At the height of the crisis Soviet ships

carrying additional weapons returned to Russian

ports and on October 28 Khrushchev announced

that the Soviet Union would dismantle and with-

draw all offensive weapons from Cuba.14°

Conflict: During the 13-day crisis President

Kennedy repeatedly rejected the advice of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff to bomb the Soviet missile in-

stallations.141The angry military men felt their

Commander-in-Chief had not dealt firmly enough

with Khrushchev.

(3) Planned Detente With Castro's Cuba.

Situation: The Missile Crisis resulted, not in

the bombing of the island but, rather, in proposed

detente with Castro.

Conflict: For several years the Pentagon and

the CIA had put forth a considerable amount of

time, money, and effort outlining, planning and

attempting to assassinate and overthrow the

bearded dictator. After the Bay of Pigs disaster

Kennedy ordered all assassination attempts on

Castro curtailed and plans for detente were

initiated.142

(4) The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Situation: In September, 1961 the Soviet

Union began sudden resumption of nuclear tests,

breaking an unofficial test ban that had lasted

nearly three years.143Kennedy urged Khrushchev

to join with the U. S. and Great Britain in an

agreement not to conduct tests in the atmosphere.

When Khrushchev did not accept the offer, JFK

ordered the resumption of underground tests and in

March, 1962, after extensive study of possible

Soviet advances, he reluctantly ordered new at-

mospheric tests.144In June, 1963 in a speech at

American University in Washington, D. C. the

President called for a break in the "vicious and

dangerous cycle" of the Cold War; he announced

another conference aimed at producing a test ban

treaty and proclaimed that pending the outcome of

the negotiations, the U. S. would refrain from

atmospheric testing. On August 5, 1963, after

lengthy negotiations, the U. S., Great Britain and

the U.S.S.R. signed a limited nuclear test ban

treaty forbidding atmospheric testing of nuclear

weapons. Initialed in Moscow in August and

formally ratified on September 1, this treaty

obligated the signatories to conduct no further

tests of nuclear devices in the atmosphere, in space

or underwater.146The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy? 194

Fort Sam Houston, Texas had been trained at

Camp Holabird, Maryland specifically for that

purpose. This unit was preparing for duty in Dallas

when it received orders not to report to that city.

Commanding Officer Maximilian Reich protested

strongly but the order stood.153

Presumably the persons coordinating the

assassination in Dealey Plaza did not want to take

the chance of having the gunmen, particularly

those on the knoll, detected by Army intelligence

personnel not involved in the killing operation.

Military Intelligence Personnel Present in Dealey

Plaza.

The 112th Unit had orders not to report to

Dallas, but Military Intelligence seems to have

been well represented in and around the killing site

on November 22.

The police pilot car which preceded the

motorcade contained Lt. Colonel George Whit-

meyer, the commander of the local army in-

telligence reserve, and possibly one other agent.154

On Main Street forty-five minutes before the

assassination an Army intelligence officer was in

the company of FBI agent James Hosty, whose

name was found in Lee Oswald's notebook and who

several weeks earlier had been the recipient of a

mysterious note from the alleged assassin.155

It is both interesting and ominous that an

Army intelligence officer was found trapped inside

the Texas School Book Depository after the

building had been sealed off. He was Special Agent

James Powell.156He ordered a newsman to hang

up a telephone on the first floor so that he, Powell,

could use it.157As mentioned in an earlier chapter

this agent was carrying a Minolta 35mm camera

and took at least one photograph in Dealey Plaza

that day; this photograph has never been seen by

anyone outside the government. Powell said he

"worked with the Sheriff's Deputies at the rear of

the Texas Book Depository for about six or eight

minutes."158Was Powell one of the men with false

Secret Service credentials encountered by Dallas

Police Officer D. V. Harkness at the rear of the

Depository? Was Powell trying to solicit in-

formation? If so, for whom?

Still another Army intelligence officer turned

up that afternoon, this time riding from the

assassination site with Dallas Police Lieutenant

Jack Revill of the criminal intelligence division.159

It was Revill who submitted a list of employees of

the Texas School Book Depository; the first name

on the list was "Harvey Lee Oswald" and the

address given was 605 Elsbeth in Dallas.169 Lee

Harvey Oswald had resided at 602 Elsbeth during

the latter part of 1962 and early 1963.161This

address was unknown to Oswald's employers at the

Depository and the Dallas Police said they had no

information whatsoever about him in their files.162

Where, then, did Revill obtain the Oswald in-

formation? Most likely from the unidentified Army

intelligence officer who rode with him from Dealey

Plaza. For, the 112th Military Intelligence Group,

which had a field office in Dallas, carried in its files

information on a "Harvey Lee Oswald" residing at

605 Elsbeth Street in Dallas.163Lee Oswald had

lived at 602 Elsbeth, yet Army intelligence lists it

as 605 and the list submitted by Revill says 605.

This helps explain why the police began searching

so quickly for Oswald when no less than eleven

other Depository employees were missing from the

building after the assassination, and it suggests

that Army intelligence was responsible for alerting

the Dallas Police about the designated patsy, Lee

Harvey Oswald.

In what could be a coincidence, Secret Service

Agent Winston Lawson, who was responsible for

selecting the route of the motorcade in Dallas, had

attended the CIC Counter-intelligence School at

Fort Holabird, Maryland and had been an Army

counterintelligence agent.164

An "epileptic fit" minutes before the

assassination served to distract spectators in the

area near Dealey Plaza. At 12:20 a man in green

army fatigues dropped to the sidewalk on Elm

Street by the County Records Building.165 An

ambulance was called and arrived moments before

the Presidential motorcade reached that point; the

siren and gathering crowd drew attention away

from the pending slaughter less than fifty yards

away. The "victim" was taken to Parkland

Hospital and upon arriving there, he calmly left his

stretcher and disappeared.166

The Autopsy

Resporissibility for the incomplete autopsy

given President Kennedy, and the falsified autopsy

report which was subsequently issued, lies totally

with the United States Military.

When the President was declared dead at 1:00

p.m. Friday, the Secret Service hastily removed

the body from Parkland Hospital before the Dallas

County Coroner could arrive, and Texas authorities

were unlawfully refused their right and duty to

195 COVER-UP

perform the medicolegal investigation and post

mortem examination.*167The assassination had

been successfully carried out in Dallas and the

civilian autopsy report could have been falsified

there, but it was more desirable to have the

autopsy performed in Washington by military

personnel whose actions during the examination

could be governed by the orders of their superiors.

As it turns out, this is exactly what happened.

Five years after the assassination, during the

New Orleans trial of Clay Shaw for conspiracy to

murder JFK, it was learned that the autopsy was

under the control of an Army general who was not

trained in medicine, and that he had ordered the

physicians not to examine the President's neck

wound. This shocking revelation was made under

oath by a very nervous Pierre Finck, one of the

three pathologists who performed the autopsy.

The government's pathologist was

pressed on this point by the New Orleans

District Attorney's office. His questioning

was conducted in behalf of the District

Attorney's office by Alvin Oser, the

Executive Assistant District Attorney.

Oser: Well, at that particular time,

Doctor, why didn't you call the doctors at

Parkland or attempt to ascertain what the

doctors at Parkland may have done or may

have seen while the President's body was

still exposed to view on the autopsy table.?

Dr. Finck: I will remind you that I was

not in charge of this autopsy, that I was

called

Oser: You were a co-author of the report

though, weren't you, Doctor?

* By "stealing" the body from civilian authorities in Texas and

having the post mortem examination performed in Washington

under the authority and supervision of those involved in the

conspiracy, the planners were able to avoid the situation which

occurred five years later when Robert Kennedy was shot to

death. The RFK autopsy was conducted by Dr. Thomas T.

Noguchi, Los Angeles County Coroner and one of the most

respected pathologists in this country. His conclusions directly

contradicted the official story as set forth by the Los Angeles

Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Noguchi stated that the three shots which struck Kennedy were

traveling from back-to-front and that the fatal shot was fired

from a maximum range of three inches behind the right ear.

Accused assassin Sirhan Sirhan was in front of Kennedy and

was never closer than two or three feet from the Senator.

Noguchi, unlike the doctors at Parkland and Bethesda

Hospitals, refused to change his findings (he said an assistant

district attorney approached him, asking him to change his

testimony), was fired as County Coroner and went to court to

regain the position. 168

Dr. Finck: Wait. I was called as a

consultant to look at these wounds; that

doesn't mean I am running the show.

Oser: Was Dr. Humes running the show?

Dr. Finck: Well, I heard Dr. Humes

stating that—he said, "Who is in charge

here?" and I heard an Army General, I

don't remember his name stating, "I am.".

You must understand that in those cir-

cumstances, there were law enforcement

officers, military people with various ranks,

and you have to coordinate the operation

according to directions. *

Oser: But you were one of the three

qualified pathologists standing at that

autopsy table, were you not, Doctor?

Dr. Finck: Yes, I was.

Oser: Was this Army General a qualified

pathologist?

Dr. Finch: No.

Oser: Was he a doctor?

Dr. Finck: No, not to my knowledge.

Oser: Can you give me his name,

Colonel?

Dr. Finch: No, I can't. I don't remember.

Oser: Do you happen to have the

photographs and X-rays taken of President

Kennedy's body at the time of the autopsy

and shortly thereafter? Do you?

Dr. Finck: I do not have X-rays or

photographs of President Kennedy with

me.

Oser: How many other military personnel

were present at the autopsy in the autopsy

room?

Col. Pierre Finck

Dr. Finck: That autopsy room was

quite crowded. It is a small autopsy room,

and when you are called in circum-

stances like that to look at the wound of

the President of the United States who is

* Exphasis added.

—

199

COVER-UP

belief, we do not believe the United States was

offguard; deep within the confines of the Pentagon,

where total power was concentrated, high military

officials were in command, alert and prepared for

any situation that might arise from foreign or

domestic sources. That is just as true today as it

was on November 22, 1963.

Who's In Command?

Bishop's book contains another revealing

incident: "Officials at the Pentagon were calling

the White House switchboard at the Dallas-

Sheraton Hotel asking who was now in command.

An officer grabbed the phone and assured the

Pentagon that Secretary of Defense Robert

MacNamara and the Joint Chiefs of Staff 'are now

the President."'* 174Because the assassination

was no doubt carried out on a need-to-know basis,

the party calling was apparently a low echelon

officer who was unaware of what was happening. It

is interesting that the communications officer who

grabbed the phone to announce the transfer of

power was a member of the Presidential party and

was fully aware of what was taking place.

Communication in all forms seems to have

been deemed of great importance by those who

planned and carried out the assassination. Several

strange incidents involving means of com-

munication — in Dallas, in Washington and

abroad—occurred that day. While these have

generally been attributed to coincidence, we believe

the odds against these particular things hap-

pening—in these particular places and at that

particular time—are overwhelming.

COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN

In Dallas the police radio was immobilized. At

12:29 Channel One of the Dallas Police radio

system was rendered inoperative when someone

within the department keyed his radio microphone

button for four minutes, making impossible any

police communication from the kill site during the

critical moments at the time of the assassination

and immediately afterward. Channel One was

reserved that day for those officers participating in

the security of the President.

From 12:29 until 12:33, the only audible sound

on police radio tapes is the rumbling of a motor-

cycle engine.175That a motorcycle patrolman

could accidentally key his microphone button for

four minutes is implausible.

* Emphasis added.

In Dallas the press telephone within the

motorcade was immobilized. At 12:34 the

radiophone in a press car carrying representatives

of the wire services was rendered inoperative. A

fight for possession of the phone broke out between

UPI's Merriman Smith and Jack Bell of Associated

Press. Bell finally managed to grasp the phone

after Smith had issued the initial report that shots

had been fired at the motorcade. But to Bell's

dismay, the line inexplicably went dead.178

We do not accept as coincidence the fact that

the only means of communication from the

motorcade—police radio and wire service

telephone—were rendered inoperative at such a

critical moment.

In Washington, D. C. there was a crucial and

astonishing breakdown of communications when

the telephone system in the nation's capital went

out at approximately 12:33 p.m. (CST). It was

almost an hour before full telephone service was

restored in the city.177We do not accept the ex-

planation that it was due to overloaded phone lines,

and we would like to know if the Pentagon was

effected by this breakdown.

Abroad, a teletype machine aboard a military

aircraft carrying Cabinet members to Japan began

chattering the first report that shots had been fired

at the Presidential motorcade in Dallas. There was

a moment of panic; fearing an international plot,

and with specific codes and procedures for such an

emergency, Secretary of State Dean Rusk and

Press Secretary Pierre Salinger attempted to

contact the White House to verify the report.178

They reached the Situation Room but were

prohibited from authenticating the data because

the official code book was missing from its special

place aboard the plane.179After a futile search for

it, the Secretary of State was forced to break

procedures designed specifically to protect against

interference with coded communication. Rusk was

forced to break the code and communicate with the

White House in plain English.180

This was not happenstance, nor was it hap-

penstance that the President, the Vice-President

and six members of the Cabinet were away from the

center of power on November 22. We believe it was

by design that Secretary of State Rusk, Treasury

Secretary Douglas Dillon, Interior Secretary

Stewart Udall and Labor Secretary W. W. Wirtz,

as well as other administration officials like Press

Secretary Salinger, were trapped in an airplane

over the Pacific Ocean at such a critical time. These

men thought they represented the true power of

this nation but all authority that day belonged to

the powerful military chieftans encompassed deep

within the Pentagon.

201

COVER-UP

Commissioner for Germany from 1949 to

1951.188

Richard B. Russell, "The Georgia

Democrat who wields more influence than

any other member of the Senate and usually

wields it in behalf of the military."189 As

Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed

Services Committee, he was always a

reliable spokesman for the military point of

view .190The Pentagon returned his favors

by pouring an unusual amount of its money

into Russell's homestate, peppering it with

military bases and rewarding Georgia

based corporations with lucrative govern-

ment contracts.191

Russell died on January 21, 1971.

Gerald R. Ford, staunch ally of the

military establishment and unfaltering in his

allegiance to the Pentagon. He had the

reputation as the CIA's best friend in

Congress.192He is now its best friend in the

White House. It was Ford who carefully

selected the members of the Rockefeller

Commission (in actuality, an illegitimate

offspring of the Warren Commission). It was

Ford who casually accepted that com-

mission's whitewashed report and who

withhold its findings on alleged CIA

assassination plots. It was Ford who did

everything in his power to block release of

the Church Committee findings about CIA

assassination plots against foreign leaders

and it was Ford who has steadfastly

defended the Agency and has harshly

criticized those in Congress and the media

who call for vast reforms and tighter reins to

control the CIA. (Please see Appendix 2 for a

"portrait of the President").

Because the Warren Report is a volume of lies

and deceit, we are led to one of two possible con-

clusions:

(1) The Commission was part of the

conspiracy and used the report to conceal the

truth about the crime, or

(2) Like the man who created it, the

Commission had been placed under control of

the force which killed Kennedy.

We conclude the latter. The Commission had,

in all likelihood, decided that the better part of

discretion was to publish a totally false report "in

the public interest." This being the case, the

Warren Commission may be viewed as a delegation

of the civilian leaders of this country accepting the

terms laid down to them by the Military.

Let us answer once again, the questions we

have asked in this chapter.

Who Gained? With the murder of John

Kennedy, the Pentagon-CIA coalition ended once

and for all the threat of civilian control. It regained

the power it had temporarily lost during Kennedy's

tenure as Commander-in-Chief. The assassination

insured continuation of the Cold War and brought

about a complete reversal of Kennedy's planned

U. S. policy toward Southeast Asia. The policy

change resulted in an undeclared war which ap-

parently served no purpose other than the grin-

ding-up of 220-billion dollars in military equip-

ment. This, in turn, provided power for the military

and wealth for its industrial counterpart.

Did the Military-Industrial complex have the

power and resources to kill its own Commander-in-

Chief? Beyond the shadow of doubt. The Pen-

tagon was and is the world's largest corporation. In

1960 it had assets totalling $60 billion. It owned

more than 32 million acres of land in the United.

States and 2-5 million overseas. Its holdings were

twice as large as those of General Motors, U. S.

Steel, A.T. & T., Metropolitan Life and Standard

Oil of New Jersey combined.193Few states in the

Union—and few countries in the world—have a

budget as large as that of the Defense Department.

One-third of the other countries have a smaller

population.194 Coupled with its industrial-

counterpart, the power and wealth of this coalition

is truly staggering.

Completing the make-up of this coalition is the

Central Intelligence Agency—the most effective

assassination machine the world has ever known.

The CIA was and is a power in itself. Its budget

has been counted in the hundreds of millions of

dollars and the Agency is not required to account

for any of it. It has tens of thousands of employees,

including "contract agents" and "contact em-

ployees" who have infiltrated almost every facet of

American life. Although it was originally created

only as an intelligence gathering arm of the

President, we know now that assassination is one

of its foremost specialities. We now know that it

recruits, arms and trains men to kill foreign

leaders. It could just as easily plan and execute the

murder of an American leader.

The assassination of President Kennedy bears

every mark of a CIA operation, including:

(1) The creation of a believable cover story

that would be accepted almost immediately

by the mass media and the public.

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

202

(2) The manpulation* and • sacrifice of a

"scapegoat" or "false sponsor," which

distracted attention from the actual killers.

(This accomplished the objective of con-

cealing the motivation for the murder, and

the involvement of governmental elements);

(3) The precision ambush utilizing

quadrangulated crossfire.

More than anyone or anything, the Military-

Industrial-Intelligence complex possessed the

power and resources to kill an American

President.

Who could manipulate a cover-up involving

Federal agencies and authorities? Who could

prolong that cover-up for more than a decade? One

cannot over-estimate the power and influence of the

Military-Industrial complex on the White House,

the Congress and other factions of American

government. Its importance was cited in a 1962

magazine article written by the authors of Seven

Days in May:

"Beyond this new political importance, the

military now carries a big stick—perhaps the

biggest—in the economic life of the nation.

Great defense lobbies, working in behalf of a

single service or a certain weapons system,

operate in Washington, seeking a bigger bite

of that $5d billion spending pie. Retired

military officers flood the executive suites of

defense industries; a House Armed Services

sub-committee found that more than 1,400

retired officers, including 261 generals and

admirals, were employed by the hundred

leading defense contractors. Each service has

its own civilian alumni association which

seeks to promote its aims. There have been

occasions when a service, its association and

the defense contractors involved have all

joined in a propaganda-advertising campaign

in behalf of a weapon that competes •with a

rival service's weapons for defense ap-

propriations. Cases in point: the arguments

* In 1959 three American men defected to the Soviet Union; a

man named Ricardelli, Robert Edward Webster and Lee

Harvey Oswald, and all three returned to the United States in

1962191

Katya Ford testified that when she asked Marina Oswald

what caused Lee to go to Russia, Marina said Lee went to the

Soviet Union for the Rand Corporation to help set up the

American Exhibit at the World Trade Exposition in Moscow.

Obviously Marina had her "defectors" confused. Rand Cor-

poration was the cover story used by Robert Edward Web-

ster196

Were the masterminds behind the John Kennedy

assassination preparing three potential "patsies"—two as

back-up in the event one failed to perform as directed?

over the Army's Nike-Zeus antimissile

missile and the Air Force's B-70 bomber.

"Much of this pressure finally focuses on

individual congressmen with key committee

positions or votes. A congressional district

generates its own politico-economic

pressures too. In 1961, the Congressional

Quarterly listed over 700 defense in-

stallations by congressional district. Over

280 of the 437 members—almost two out of

every three—had one or more defense ac-

tivities in their districts. And the list covered

only Goverment installations, leaving aside

the long list of private industrial con-

tractors ."197

More than anyone or anything, the Military-

Industrial complex could exert extreme pressure on

key individuals in the government to participate in

the cover-up for reasons of "national security." By

maintaining its awesome power, the coalition has

insured continuation of the cover-up by Federal

authorities.

Who could have been powerful enough to

persuade or command some of the highest officials

of our government to perjure themselves before the

American public? Only the Military-Industrial

complex with its intelligence apparatus, in our

opinion, was able to persuade certain government

officials to lie in the interests of national security.

For instance, it would have been easy to convince

these officials, by the use of false documents,

photographs or other evidence, that John Kennedy

had Communist ties or tendencies; the officials

could be told that rather than expose that

shocking, ominous information to the public, it had

been decided that murder was the only alter-

native—"for the good of the country," of course.

Only the Military-Industrial complex, we believe,

could command, where necessary, certain Federal

officials to help perpetuate the cover-up. What one

individual would dare refuse that awesome cartel?

CONCLUSIONS:

Who killed Kennedy? We believe his death was

ordained and carried out by a force far greater than

can be imagined by the average citizen: a super-

power comprised of the Military-Industrial-

Intelligence complex. Within this sphere is an elite

body of men who make the decisions which govern

203 COVER-UP

this nation's destiny.* It is very unlikely that this

democracy will ever recover from results of the

decision made by these men in 1963.

It is a sobering thought when one finds that

the murder of a President has been planned and

executed by a force within the government which is

more powerful than the government itself. It is

even more sobering when one discovers that this

same power can initiate and cover up facts con-

cerning this murder. In exerting its might through

whatever means it has deemed necessary—

financial influence, political pressure or threat or

physical harm— it has acquired the assistance of

government officials in prolonging the suppression

of truth.

* This group calls itself "The Secret Team." According to

Colonel Prouty, "The secret team is a group of men who can

orchestrate the activities of the United States government.

They are not always the same men. But they are always from

the same areas of interest—industry, big business, the

military, big banks, big lawyers. Through their ability to direct

the activities of key people, they manipulate government policy

and have probably done so since 1959 or 1960. Certainly since

the murder of Jack Kennedy in 1963."198He estimates

membership in this group at between 50 and 200 members.199

Colonel Prouty knows whereof he speaks. From 1955 to 1963 he

was the Focal Point (liaison) officer between the Pentagon and

the CIA. During 1962 and 1963 he was Director of Special Plans

(clandestine operations) in the office of the Joint Chiefs of

Staff .200The reader is urged to read his book, The Secret Team

(The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the World).

On November 22, 1963, this cabal executed a

man it considered a criminal—a weak treasonous

and imcompetent commander-in-chief. On April 5,

1968, June 5, 1968 and May 15, 1972 brutal force

was again used in order to silence potentially

disruptive voices. Tiring of the "blow-out-their

brains" technique, the cabal turned to character

assassination. This method claimed its first victim

on June 18, 1969, at Chappaquiddick Island,

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. On August 9,

1974 it was used to remove another Commander-inj

Chief. Richard Nixon was driven from office; his

improbity had been proven beyond any doubt and

the cartel felt he no longer served their purpose.

As in every great empire of the past, America

has begun to crumble from within. The power-mad,

money-hungry cabal that killed JFK believes it

knows what is best for this country. It will never

again permit the accidental election to the

Presidency of a person like John Kennedy.

It is the continued promise of swift deprivation

of life to any who oppose them that permits the

power elite to maintain control over the Presidency.

In this manner they guarantee their perpetuation of

power. America has apathetically accepted 12

years of bloodshed by war and political

assassination, as well as governmental and non-

governmental sanction of atrocities committed

domestically and abroad. It is this apathy which

has lent license to the cabal's brutal display of

awesome force.

They are convinced they can do it again and

again and again.

Is there no hope?

Fifteen hours after the assassination, Mrs. Kennedy was still

wearing the blood-spattered dress worn in Dallas. Asked by

aides to change her clothing, she replied, "No. I want them to

see what they have done." "They" certainly did not refer to a

foreign group.

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

204

205 COVER-UP

NOTES - CHAPTER SEVEN

1. Report, pp. 292-299.

2. Joesten, Joachim -Oswald: Assassin or Fall-Guy?, pp. 148-

150.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Manchester, William -The Death Of A President, p. 151.

6. Jones, Penn -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III, p. 22.

7. Conversation with Penn Jones, 09-75.

8. Hepburn, James -Farewell America, p. 252.

9. Report, p. 298.

10. Joesten -op. cit.

11. Report, p. 297.

12. Bishop, Jim -The Day Kennedy Was Shot, p. 25.

13. Authors' files (Miami Police Dept. Intelligence Unit

transcript).

14. Jones -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III, p. 43.

15. Authors' files (1968 interview conducted by James Alcock

of the New Orleans District Attorney's Office).

16. CD 1347, p. 120.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Authors' files (Memorandum of conversation between

Bernard Fensterwald and Bill Somersett).

20. FBI interview of J. A. Milteer by SAs Williams and

Adams, dated 12-01-63.

21. Hepburn -op. cit., pp. 234-235.

22. Jones -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III, pp. 7-8.

23. Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders, p.

71.

24. Ibid.

25. Ibid.

26. Dallas Morning News, 07-31-75.

27. Anson, Robert -"They've Killed the President!," pp. 264-

265.

28. McCoy -The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, p. 26.

29. Ibid.

30. Gage - "The Little Big Man Who Laughs At the Law,"

Atlantic magazine, 07-70.

31. Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders,

pp. 74-75.

32. Ashman, Charles -The CIA -Mafia Link, p. 110.

33. Dallas Morning News, 06-21-75.

34. Ashman -op. cit., iv (dedication).

35. McCoy -op. cit., pp. 153-156.

36. Demaris, Ovid - Exerpt from An Oral Biography of J.

Edgar Hoover, Argosy magazine, 07-75.

37. Sheridan, Walter -The Rise and Fall of Jimmy Hoffa, p. 7.

38. Anson -op. cit., p. 317.

39. Reid -The Grim Reapers, p. 158.

40. Mollenhoff, Clark -The Tentacles of Power, pp. 374-375.

41. Ibid.

42. CE 1288; 2 H 44, 5 H 200; CE 1184; CE 1693, p. 1; Report,

p. 708; Scott, Peter Dale - "The Longest Cover-Up"

Ramparts magazine, 11-73; Demaris, Ovid -The Captive

City, pp. 5, 17.

43. Report, pp. 29, 39.

44. Hepburn -op. cit., pp. 352-353.

45. Prouty, L. Fletcher - "The Guns of Dallas," Gallery

magazine, 10-75.

46. Hepburn -op. cit., p. 299

47. Manchester -op. cit., pp. 34-40.

48. Dallas Morning News, 10-01-75.

49. Report, pp. 449-450.

50. XV H 660, 661.

51. Report, p. 449.

52. Ibid, p. 50.

53. Dallas Morning News, 12-07-75.

54. XVIII H 749.

55. Hepburn -op. cit., p. 300.

56. Bishop -op. cit., p. 175; Hepburn -op. cit., p. 358.

57. II H 117.

58. Dallas Iconoclast, 01-09-76.

59. "President's Commission on the Assassination of President

Kennedy, Report of Proceedings Held at Washington,

D.C., January 22, 1964" (transcript).

60. "President's Commission on the Assassination of President

Kennedy, Report of Proceedings Held at Washington,

D.C., January 27, 1964" (transcript).

61. Ibid.

62. Report, p. 62.

63. 4H 420.

64. Ibid.

65. Report, p. 436.

66. V H 242-243.

67. V H 112.

68. XVII H 803.

69. V H 34, 35.

70. CE 709.

71. Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 02109-75.

72. Ibid.

73. Report, p. 441.

74. Ibid., p. 442.

75. Ibid., p. 443.

76. Time magazine, 11-03-75.

77. Ibid.

IV H 20.

79. Time, 11-03-75.

80. Ibid.

81. Dallas Morning News, 12-17-75.

82. Ibid, 12-14-75.

83. Ibid.

84. Ibid.

85. Ibid., 12-17-75.

86. Time, 11-03-75.

87. New York Times, 9-17-75.

88. Dallas Morning News, 10-02-75.

89. Ibid.

90. Ibid.

91. Dallas Times Herald, .11-25-63.

92. Ibid.

93. 1H 79, 80.

94. 1 H 410.

95. Conversation with Penn Jones, 05-75.

96. Lane, Mark -Rush To Judgement, p. 285.

97. Report, p. 178.

98. VII H 50, 51.

99. DallasMorning News, 07-25-75.

100. Ibid.

101. Jones -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III, p. 85.

102. Ibid.

103. Demaris -op. cit. (Argosy).

104. The White House Tapes (BantamBooks, pp. 77-78).

105. Dallas Morning News, 11-19-75, 12-02-75.

106. "The Truth About Hoover" Time, 12-22-75.

107. Ibid.

108. DallasMorning News, 12-23-75.

Speculation: Who Killed Kennedy?

206

109. Luttwak, Edward -Coup d'Etat, p. 32.

110. Welsh, David - "Building Lyndon Johnson" Ramparts (A

Muckraker's Guide to 1968 & Other Horrors) Special

Edition.

111. Jones -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III, p. 83.

112. Johnson, Lyndon B. -The Vantage Point, p. 7.

113. Interview conducted by Gary Shaw and Penn Jones.

114. "Goodnight America" (ABC Wide World of En-

tertainment), 3-27-75.

115. Newcomb and Adams -Murder From Within (privately

published manuscript).

116. Jones -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III (1976 edition).

117. Dallas Morning News, 11-30-75.

118. Welsh, David - "The Legacy of Penn Jones, Jr." Ram-

parts, 11-66.

119. Memorandum by Melvin Eisenberg dated 02-17.64 (cited

in Whitewash IV, p. 24, by Harold Weisberg).

120. Jones -Forgive My Grief, Vol. III, p. 2.

121. Ibid, pp. 2-3.

122. Szulc, Tad - "The Warren Commission In Its Own Words"

The New Republic, 10-27-75.

123. Ibid.

124. Ibid.

125. Turner, William - "The Garrison Commission To In-

vestigate the Assassination of President Kennedy"

Ramparts, 01-68.

126. Dallas Morning News, 04-01-68.

127. Knebel, Fletcher and Bailey, Charles - "Military Control:

Can It Happen Here?" Look magazine, 9-11-62.

128. Ibid.

129. Schlesinger, Arthur -The Imperial Presidency, p. 198.

130. Knebel and Bailey -op. cit.

131. Ibid.

132. Eisenhower, Dwight David - Farewell Address, January

17, 1961.

133. Knebel and Bailey -op. cit.

134. Khrushchev -Khrushchev Remembers, pp. 551.552.

135. Garrison - A Heritage of Stone, p. 27.

136. Wise and Ross -The Invisible Government, pp. 19-20.

137. Ibid, p. 99.

138. Branch and Crile - "The Kennedy Vendetta" Harper's, 08-

75.

139. Schlesinger - A Thousand Days, p. 242.

140. Abel, Elie -The Missile Crisis.

141. Schlesinger - A Thousand Days, p. 420.

144. Ibid. pp. 414-441.

145. Ibid. pp. 822-824.

146. Ibid, pp. 834-838.

147. Ibid, pp. 830-833.

148. Ibid, pp. 818-819, 832-833.

149. Schlesinger - A Thousand Days, p. 316.

150. Jones -Forgive My Grief, Vol. IV, pp. 200-201.

151. Schurmann, Scott and Zelnick -The Politics of Escalation

in Vietnam, p. 32.

152. Jones -Forgive My Grief IV, p. 201; Wicker, Tom -JFK

and LBJ, p. 205.

153. Prouty -op. cit.

154. Stevenson Exhibit 5053; 21 H 578.

155. 4 H 461.

156. CD 354 (cited in Thompson's Six Seconds in Dallas, p.

312).

157. Ibid; conversation with Penn Jones.

158. Ibid.

159. 5 H 57.

160. CE 709.

161. XXII H 156, 157.

162. IV H 180, 181.

163. Anson -op. cit., p. 175.

164. 4 H 318.

165. Hepburn -op. cit., p. 175.

164. 4 H 318.

165. Hepburn -op. cit., 355.

166. CD 1254, p. 6.

167. Bishop -op. cit., 283-289.

168. National Tattler Special Issue: "RFK's Assassination"

11-75.

169. Weisberg, Harold -Post-Mortem, p. 303.

170. Jones -Forgive My Grief III (1976 edition).

171. Sibert-O'Neill Report; Bishop -op. cit., p. 450.

172. 17 H 48.

173. Bishop -op. cit., p. 203.

174. Ibid, p. 271.

175. Authors' files (Dallas Police radio tapes, 11-22.63).

176. Bishop -op. cit., p. 195; Manchester -op. cit., p. 168.

177. Manchester -op. cit., pp. 198-199.

178. Ibid.

179.Ibid, pp. 193-195, 224.

180. Ibid.

181. Jones -Forgive My Grief IV, p. 200.

182. Ibid.

183. Ibid.

184. White, Theodore -The Making of the President, 1964, p.

20.

185. Manchester -op. cit., p. 224.

186. Jones -Forgive My Grief IV, p. 176.

187. Wise and Ross -The Espionage Establishment, p. 127.

188. Report, p. 476.

189. McGaffin and Knoll -Scandal in the Pentagon, p. 35.

190. Ibid, p. 39.

191. Ibid, pp. 123-132.

192. Garrison -op. cit., p. 85.

193. Hepburn -op. cit., p. 132.

193. Ibid.

195. Jones -Forgive My Grief IV, p. 169.

196. Ibid.

197. Knebel and Bailey -op. cit.

198. Interview with L. Fletcher Prouty, Gallery, 11-75.

199. Ibid.

200. Ibid.

207 COVER-UP

cfRindjudgment is turned away

backward, and justice standeth afar

off; for TRUTH IS FALLEN IN

THE STREET, and equity cannot

enter. [Isaiah 59:14].

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE HOPE

208

The previous chapters of this book were not

meant as a diatribe against this government or its

leaders. We have received little pleasure in ex-

posing the crimes and deceit of those who would

have us follow. In presenting the truth, we realize

that we may have destroyed much of the reader's

remaining faith in this nation's various federal and

local agencies. For this we can offer no apology to

either the reader or to the exposed.

America, to coin a phrase from a popular

cigarette ad, "has come a long way, baby." In the

past three-quarters of a century we have managed

to completely obliterate the precepts upon which

our forefathers established these United States of

America. We have failed miserably in our attempt

at a free and democratic society.

Policital Failure

Man must be governed by God or he will be

ruled by tyrants.

—William Penn

No longer do we have a government of the

people, for the people and by the people. Rather, a

few wealthy and powerful forces who feel that they

know what is best for the masses, continue to usurp

additonal power—making and breaking laws ac-

cordingly. The fact that these laws which are made

and broken somehow benefit or profit these forces

is beside the point. These men—the real criminals

behind the decadence of the past 12 years—

continue to run their corporations, control their

banks, wage their wars and pull strings throughout

their political and financial machines.

For among my people are found wicked men;

they lay wait, as he that sitteth snares; they

set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full

of birds, so are their houses full of deceit:

therefore THEY ARE BECOME GREAT

AND WAXEN RICH. [Jeremiah 5:26-271.

Money is Power, and this nation has turned

over the reins of government to those of means.

Elections are now governed by one's ability to

purchase advertising time. A candidate's moral

character is no longer a valid issue in political

races. Politicians say one thing (usually what the

people like to hear) and act in the opposite (usually

in a manner that enhances their position with those

who pay their bills: Big Business). Thus politicians

have become only pawns of the money-grabbers. It

is this prostitution of our governmental structure

that has given rise to the accumulation of

illegitimate power on the part of a very wealthy

few.

No better example of such illegitimate power

can be found than that exemplified by Vice-

President Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller. At the

discretion of Gerald Ford, this man gained the

second highest political office in this land

(something he would have never obtained by

election. Ford himself took over the top position at

the discretion of Richard Nixon).

The Hope

210

but it is failing. The years 1974 to 1976 have seen

the following:

(1) The purchasing power of the dollar

shrink nearly 20 %.

(2) The value of household savings and other

assets decline 11.5%.

(3) The size of household debts increase by

18.6%.

In addition, in the past six years taxes have in-

creased almost 65%.

Yet our politicians cry out for more and more

money, purportedly for national defense and

military security, as well as for the poor and needy.

Then, heeding their own cry, they tax everyone

except the fabulously wealthy and the multi-million

dollar corporations. (These same politicians,

meanwhile, have taken the precaution of voting

themselves automatic cost-of-living pay raises.)

By furnishing Big Business with war-related

contracts for unneeded and over-priced military

equipment, the "fat cats" get fatter. By doling out

to the poor only from the pockets of middle income

Americans, more people have money with which to

go to the market and purchase the goods provided

by Big Business. Not a bad deal . . . .

With this type of operation it is no wonder that

there has been such a concentration of wealth

during this past half century. This scheming,

criminal and unjust system (a system far removed

from that envisioned by our forefathers) will soon

end. Those who have propagated and profited from

it shall stand and watch their great accumulations

of wealth come to nought.

"The merchants of these things [wealth]

which were made rich by her [Babylon, the

great end-times nation] shall stand afar off

for the fear of her torment, weeping and

wailing, for IN ONE HOUR SO GREAT

RICHES ARE COME TO NOUGHT."

[Revelation 18:15 and 17].

You should remember, Mr. Rich Man, you

shall leave this earth with absolutely nothing, not

even the dirt under your fingernails—the un-

dertaker will take even that.

Educational Failure

Our schools have failed in attaining their

original goal. The original intention of education in

America was "that our children may learn to read

the Holy scriptures that they might not be ignorant

of Satan and his devices." Instead, our public

education system has become a safe-house for

atheistic and perverted instructors who deny the

existence of God and teach the hypothesis that man

evolved from apes. Our children are required to

listen to such tripe while at the same time being

told that Bible reading and prayers in public

schools are unconstitutional.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of

WISDOM. [Psalms 111:10]

Family Failure

One of the most heartbreaking collapses is the

American home. The family unit in this country is

being torn asunder by parental infidelity, divorce

and new waves of permisiveness.

The Apostle Paul spoke of a time near the end

when men would be without natural affection,

meaning that there would not be that natural love

between a parent and child. This has come to pass.

No longer is a child's home a shelter from the

pressures of the world; it has become merely

another battleground . . . .

Church Failure

With the churches of this land, the failure is

the greatest. Why? Simply because the respon-

sibility of the Church is the greatest. The Church

long ago abandoned the precepts of its Founder. It

has become another Big Business following Big

Business ways. Madison Avenue advertising

techniques and Wall Street finance methods help

promote man-made churches with man-made

philosophies. The Bible is relegated to a lesser place

(if any place at all), and people starving for a word

from God must listen to twaddle about higher

wages, foreign policy, aid to education, com-

munism, urban renewal, Civil rights, acceptance of

the gay and equality of the sexes.

Thus the blind lead the blind. A satanic

substitution for the preaching and teaching of the

Word of God is being offered when the real

Christian message, preached and practiced, would

cause a reduction of moral degeneracy, racial

misunderstanding, poverty and crime. Where are

men like the Apostle Paul who will stand boldly

and chastise the churches which long ago ceased to

follow the instructions set forth by their Founder?

Where are men like Elijah who will expose the

corruption of government? Where are the preachers

with "thus saith the Lord"?

Yes, in the 200 years since the birth of this

nation we have come a long way. In fact, we've

come so far that we now find ourselves at the edge

of a precipice awaiting that inevitable last shove

which will send us plunging to our complete and

211

COVER-UP

total destruction.

Of the eight chapters we have written, this last

will no doubt receive the harshest criticism. But it

would be a great disservice to close the book of-

fering no greater hope to the reader than the highly

improbable possibility that the people of this

nation will rise up and sweep the power-mad,

money-hungry leaders from their powerful

positions, bringing about a restoration of truth,

justice and equity. To even think that this can be

done at this late stage is to dream a fool's dream.

Indeed, revolution may come—but with it will

come only death, destruction, pain and sorrow.

Those who now control will never relinquish. This

nation, the greatest the world has ever known, is

collapsing from within. The collapse began long

before that November day in 1963.

In the remaining pages of this last chapter we

will seek to answer the question most asked by

those who have finally realized the enormity of the

crimes, lies and deceit propogated by those who

rule this country: Is there any hope? To discover a

cure for terminal cancer and then hide it would be

complete dereliction. To write this book and not

answer the cry, Is there no hope? would be to

compromise. We have not compromised in the

preceding chapters . . . we will not do so now.

There is hope, and recognition of the illness that

has plagued mankind since the beginning of time is

the first step in discovering a cure.

The Disease: Man Himself

This land—once a land of promise—could not

withstand the ravages of our own lust. We searched

for stability in life and couldn't find it. We cried for

answers and none were given. We grasped at the

utopian society only to discover, as did nations of

the past, that it was just out of reach. Man has

looked to man and has failed. We missed the mark.

Man is a failure.

Yet, while the world collapses around us, there

is a peace, a confidence, a hope beyond description

available to those who desire it. The one who offers

it calls it—the abundant life.

The Cure: The Abundant Life

The abundant (above the common) life is a

supernatural life and the world does not understand

it. It is thought to be an abnormal life while in

reality it is the only normal life. The author

discovered this life as a young boy and has found it

to be the answer to every question, the fulfillment

of every need and the strength for every situation.

This life of which I speak, this abundant life, is

a new life, born of the Spirit of Almighty God

through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the

free and unmerited gift of the Creator. Man's

problem is a spiritual problem — and God has

provided a solution. This is the hope of the world.

The Hope

In the one true God we find true stability. God

never changes. His disposition is not dependent on

how He feels. His actions are not governed by lust

and greed. He is not one thing today and

something else tomorrow. He is the same

yesterday, today and forever. This is stability. He

is a God that is all-powerful. He is who He says He

is, did what He said He did and will do what He

said He would do.

He is God who gave us His infallible and

unerring Word and then made it visible to us

through His Son, Jesus. Jesus came to this earth,

lived a perfect life, was executed, buried and then

arose from the dead. His life, death and

resurrection is verified by hundreds of eyewitness

accounts of His day. It is verified today by the

changed lives of thousands of people.

This is the hope of the world. In Christ Jesus,

the Son of God, we find:

A New Life—Have you ever wished that

you could erase your life and start all over?

This comes with the new birth. Our past life

does not exist as far as God is concerned.

Strength for daily living—Through the Holy

Spirit of God man is provided a supernatural

(attributable to a divine power) strength for

life.

A Confidence with which to face the

future—No matter what happens, through

Jesus we realize that life is but a tiny fraction

of eternity. What we do here is not im-

portant. What He is able to do through us as

we give our lives to Him is what counts.

Man, does that relieve pressure.

Eternal Life—A life that never ends—

which simply means victory over man's most

dreaded enemy: death.

The hope of this world is not found in man or

his creations. They have failed in the past; they will

continue to fail in the future. The hope of this world

is found in the Creator of this world. You can have

this hope. The Creator says that you can have new

life, eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. He

said to follow this simple plan. I urge you to read

on and yeild to the Spirit of God.

The Hope 212

1. Recognize yourself as you really are and then

turn away. In other words, turn your back on

yourself.

2. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and

place yourself, unreservedly, just as you are, at

His disposal. In other words, turn the control of

your life over to the one who knows best how to

run it. (Who knows better how to run you than

the one who made you?) Commit your life to

Him.

Sound simple? It is. God provided the plan for

whosoever. (Blind man, dumb man, deaf man,

young man, old man, intelligent man, simple-

minded man and on and on.) If He had made it

any way other than simple, it would have

eliminated some of these mentioned. In other

words, had He added a complex series of steps

involving man's assistance, some might be left

out. It is with the heart (innermost being) that

man believes, and only God knows the heart.

Passing out eternal life is His business and He

does not make mistakes.

Do you wish to turn the control of your life

over to the Lord? If so, do it now. Call on Him. For

the time has now arrived that whosoever shall call

upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED.

(Acts 2:21) That's His word.

If you have made the decision to place your life

in the hands of God, I hope you will write and let

me know.

This world is fast coming to a conclusion. The

same God who now deals with his creation in mercy

will soon pour out His wrath upon a wicked and

disobedient people. The destruction at Sodom and

Gomorrah will seem mild in comparison.

One day, in the not too distant future, the Son

of God will return to this earth. This time He will

come as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The

wicked and perverted governmental systems of this

world will be destroyed. At this point in time there

will be no more doubters, for every knee will bow

and every mouth will proclaim that Jesus is ruler of

all.

I am thankful for The Hope. With Him the

cares of this world are of little significance.

213

COVER-UP

214

APPENDIX I

Fake Photograph #3

In Chapter Two we discussed the two

incriminating — and demonstrably fake—

photographs of Lee Oswald holding the weapons

alleged to have killed President Kennedy and

policeman J. D. Tippitt.

Marina Oswald testified under oath that she

took the two photographs on March 31, 1963. She

also said she took only two pictures: "I had even

forgotten that I had taken two photographs. I

thought there was only one. I thought that there

were two identical pictures, but they turned out to

be two different poses." (1 H 16).

She did say, however, that she burned an

additional picture shortly after the assassination,

on the advice of Marguerite Oswald.

Dallas Police detectives Stovall and Rose

testified that there were only two such photos of

Oswald with weapons found among the accused

assassin's personal belongings. Recall that the

these same two detectives made demonstrably false

statements about the mutilation of the Walker

photograph, Chapter Five.

However, in early 1976 a startling discovery

was made by Senator Richard Schweiker's sub-

committee looking into events stemming from

JFK's assassination. A third photograph —one

which according to authorities did not exist—came

to light. Supposedly, the picture was found among

a collection of some 40 photographs retained

(apparently as souveniers) by a retired (now

deceased) member of the Dallas Police force.

Dallas Police officials have maintained for 12

years that there were only two such photographs.

But the picture below strongly suggests otherwise.

It is a recreation staged by the DPD Crime Lab;

the reader will note that the officer is in a pose

identical to that of "Oswald" in the new-found

photograph.

This seems to be yet another example of lies,

deceit and misbehavior on the part of members of

the Dallas Police Department.

215

COVER-UP

216

APPENDIX II

Portrait of the President

When President Johnson was deciding on the

men he would name to his commission to in-

vestigate the death of his predecessor,

Congressman Gerald R. Ford of Michigan was

personally recommended to him by former-Vice-

President Richard M. Nixon. Since Nixon may

have had some knowledge of the real story about

JFK's murder, he knew that Ford was just the kind

of man needed by LBJ to keep the quasi-

investigation from getting out of bounds and to

insure that the necessary, preordained conclusions

were reached. The Representative from Michigan

had several qualifications which made him ideal for

such a commission.

As mentioned in chapter seven, Ford had a

reputation as the CIA's best friend in Congress. He

was also a staunch ally of the Pentagon, as his

voting record on military expenditures clearly

shows. As President of the United States he has

maintained his strong support of this coalition; he

has been especially industrious in protecting the

CIA by promoting a cover-up of damaging in-

formation uncovered by Senate and House in-

telligence committees.

As a puppet of the Military and Industrial

complex with its intelligence apparatus, Com-

mission member Gerald Ford could be expected to

look after their interests, and he performed

beautifully.

Because he heard more witnesses (70 of 94) and

asked more questions than anyone on the Com-

mission (not including the Chairman), Ford had to

fully realize that a conspiracy killed John Kennedy.

Yet,. he was the most eager supporter of the single-

bullet theory and was overly-zealous in insisting

that Oswald's alleged commitment to communism

be listed as a factor in Oswald's motives for killing

the President.

Too, the Michigan Congressman's naivete

would prove useful in the investigation. LBJ liked

to tell political cronies, "Ford is kinda dense. He

must have played too much football without a

helmet." Johnson added that Ford was incapable of

walking and chewing gum at the same time.

It is evident that Ford was personally corrupt

enough to go along with his colleagues on the

commission in covering up and concealing from the

public, the facts about the killing of an American

president. Of strong significance in this regard is

the fact that he alone of the seven members tried to

commercially exploit the tragedy for his own

monetary profit. Ford appointed to his personal

staff, John R. Stiles, who had served as his first

campaign manager in 1948, and in 1960 as Field

Director of the Nixon For President campaign.

Stiles was named as the Congressman's special

assistant during the ten months Ford served, on the

Commission. Actually, the Commission had at its

disposal an enormous staff of lawyers, and Stiles

served no official purpose as "Special Assistant."

That was merely Ford's way of getting the

American taxpayer to provide him with a ghost-

writer for the book Portrait of The Assassin.

Written by Stiles and bearing Ford's name and

Appendix II

218

"I said: 'He can speak Kiswahili.'

"'Big deal.'

"'He's a crack shot.'

"'Is he planning to start a war?'

"'He's a good Republican.'

"`So are a lot of people.'

"'He contributed $30,000 to the campaign in

New York.'

"'That money went to the state.' He thought

for a moment, then said, 'I really don't have the

time to involve myself in this sort of problem,

anyway. I'm too busy.'

"'I said, He's willing to give another thirty

thousand to the National Committee.'

"Without changing his tone or expression,

Ford said, 'He is? Tell him he can see me whenever

he wants. I'll try to help.'

"'Thanks.' I turned and headed for the door.

Before I got there, I was hit by that wave of nausea

I had often carried out of a Democrat's office. I

stopped and looked back at at Ford, and I guess

my feelings showed. I said, 'Jerry, this is a hell of a

note.'

"'Don't let it bother you Bob,' he said. 'Money

is the name of the game. Without it, you're dead."'

by Robert N. Winter-Berger; Dell Publishing Co.,

Inc.)

This is the same man who on October 7, 1975

told newsmen, "I think honesty is the best policy—

you inevitably get caught if you don't tell the

truth."

Gerald Ford and his cohorts on the Com-

mission have been caught. As previously stated,

they must be considered as accessories after the

fact in this crime, and subject to the same

prosecution brought against those who covered up

the (by comparison) misdemeanor crime of

Watergate.

Ford, Belin and company merit punishment

appropriate for the criminals that they are.

219

BIBLIOGRAPHY

This bibliography is included for the benefit of

those readers wishing to further study the

assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the

interest of objectivity the books are divided into

two categories: those supporting and defending the

Warren Commission's report, and those criticizing

it and/or contradicting its conclusions.

The following books support and defend the Warren

Commission and its conclusions:

Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of

President Kennedy; U. S. Government Printing Office,

1964.

Belin, David W.—November 22, 1963: You Are the Jury;

Quadrangle Books, 1973.

Bishop, Jim—The Day Kennedy Was Shot; Funk & Wagnalls,

New York, 1968.

Bonner, Judy W.—Investigation of a Homicide: The Murder of

John F. Kennedy; Droke House, 1969.

Curry, Jesse E.— JFK Assassination File; American Poster

and Publishing Co., Dallas, 1969.

Ford, Gerald R. and John Stiles—Portrait of The Assassin;

Simon & Schuster, New York, 1965.

Hanson, William H.—The Shooting of John F. Kennedy;

Naylor, San Antonio, 1969.

Lewis, Richard and Lawrence Schiller— The Scavengers and

Critics of Warren Report; Delaconte Press, New York,

1967.

Manchester, William— The Death of a President; Harper &

Row, 1967.

Newman, Albert H.—The Assassination of John F. Kennedy:

The Reasons Why; Potter, New York, 1970.

Roberts, Charles— The Truth About the Assassination; Gosset

& Dunlap, New York, 1967.

Sparrow, John—After the Assassination: A Positive Appraisal

of the Warren Report; Chilmark Press, New York, 1967.

Wills, Gary and Ovid Demarris —Jack Ruby; New American

Library, New York, 1967.

The following books are critical of the Warren Commission

and/or contradict the conclusions put forth in the Warren

Report:

Hearings Before the President's Commission on the

Assassination of President Kennedy (26 Volumes); U.S.

Government Printing Office, 1964.

Blumenthal, Sid and Harvey Yazijian (Editors)— Government

By Gunplay: Assassination Conspiracy Theories From

Dallas to Today; Signet Books, the New American Library,

Inc., 1976.

Canfield, Michael and A. J. Weberman—Coup d'Etat In

America: The CIA in the Assassination of J. F. Kennedy;

Okpaku Publishing Co., 1975.

Chapman, Gil and Arm Chapman— Was Oswald Alone?

Publishers' Export Company, San Diego, 1967.

Cutler, R. B.—The Flight of CE 399: Evidence of Conspiracy;

Omni-Print, Beverly, Mass., 1969.

Cutler, R. B.—Crossfire: Evidence of Conspiracy: Omni•Print,

Beverly, Mass., 1972.

Cutler, R. B.—The Umbrella Man: Evidence of Conspiracy;

The Author, 1975.

Epstein, Edward J.— Inquest: The Warren Commission and

the Establishment of Truth; Viking Press, New York, 1966.

Feldman, Harold—Fifty-One Witnesses: The Grassy Knoll;

Idlewild Publishing Co., 1965.

Flammonde, Paris—The Kennedy Conspiracy; Meredith Press,

N.Y., 1969.

Bibliography 220

Fox, Sylvan-The Unanswered Questions About President

Kennedy's Assassination; Award Books, New York, 1965.

Garrison, Jim-A Heritage of Stone; G. P. Putnam, New York,

1970.

Hepburn, James-Farewell America; Frontiers Publishing Co.,

1968.

Irwin, T. H. and Hazel Hale-A Bibliography of Books,

Newspaper and Magazine Articles Published in English

Outside the United States of America, Related to the

Assassination of John F. Kennedy; The Editors (Belfast,

Ireland - Leeds, England), 1975.

Joesten, Joachim-Oswald: Assassin or Fall-Guy?; Manzani &

Munsell, New York, 1964.

Joesten, Joachim-Oswald: The Truth; Peter Dawnay,

London, 1967.

Joesten, Joachim-How Kennedy Was Killed: The Full Ap-

palling Story; Peter Dawnay, London, 1968.

Jones, Penn-Forgive My Grief, Vol. I; The Midlothian Mirror

(Texas), 1966.

Jones, Penn-Forgive My Grief, Vol. II; The Midlothian

Mirror, 1967.

Jones, Penn-Forgive My Grief, Vol. III; The Midlothian

Mirror, 1969.

Jones, Penn-Forgive My Grief, Vol. IV; The Author, 1974.

Jones, Penn-Forgive My Grief, Vol III, Revised (1976 Edition

containing new, additional material): The Author.

Lane, Mark-Rush to Judgement; Holt, Rinehart & Winston,

N. Y. 1966.

Lane, Mark-A Citizen's Dissent; Holt, Rinehart & Winston,

N.Y. 1967.

MacFarlane, Ian-The Assassination of John F. Kennedy; A

New Review; Book Distributors, Melbourne, Australia,

1974.

MarFarlane, Ian-Proof of Conspiracy in the Assassination of

President Kennedy; Book Distributors, Melbourne,

Australia, 1975.

Marcus, Raymond-The Bastard Bullet: A Search for

Legitimacy for CE 399; Rendall Publications, Los Angeles,

1966.

Meagher, Sylvia-Accessories After the Fact; Bobbs-Merrill,

N.Y. 1967.

Model, F. Peter and Robert J. Groden-JFK: The Case for

Conspiracy; F. P. Model & Co., 1976; Manor Books, Inc.,

- N. Y.

Noyes, Peter-Legacy of Doubt; Pinnacle Books, 1973.

O'Toole, George-The Assassination Tapes; Penthouse Press,

1975.

Popkin, Richard-The Second Oswald; Avon Books, New

York, 1966.

Roffman, Howard-Presumed Guilty: Lee Harvey Oswald in

the Assassination of John F. Kennedy; Farleigh Dickinson

Press, 1975.

Sauvage, Leo-The Oswald Affair; World Publishing Co.,

Cleveland, 1966.

Scott, Peter Dale (editor) and others-The Assassinations:

Dallas and Beyond (A Guide to Cover-ups and In-

vestigations); Vintage Press, 1976.

Shaw, J. Gary and Larry R. Harris-Cover-Up: The Govern-

mental Conspiracy to Conceal the Facts About the Public

Execution of John F. Kennedy; The Authors, Cleburne,

Texas 1976.

Thompson, Josiah-Six Seconds in Dallas: A Micro-Study of

the Assassination; Bernard Geis & Associates, New York,

1967.

Thompson, W. C.-A Bibliography of Literature Relating to

the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy; The

Editor, San Antonio, Texas, 1968 (includes 1971 Sup-

plement).

Weisberg, Harold-Whitewash: The Report on the Warren

Commission Report; The Author, Hyattstown, Maryland,

1966.

Weisberg, Harold-Whitewash II: The FBI-Secret Service

Cover-up; The Author, Hyattstown, Maryland, 1966.

Weisberg, Harold-Photographic Whitewash; The Author,

Hyattstown, Md., 1967.

Weisberg, Harold-Whitewash IV: JFK Assassination

Transcript; The Author, Hyattstown, Maryland, 1974.

Weisberg, Harold-Oswald in New Orleans: The Case of

Conspiracy With the CIA; Canyon Books, New York, 1967.

Weisberg, Harold-Post Mortem: JFK Assassination Cover-

up Smashed; The Author, Frederick, Md., 1975.

221 COVER-UP

PENN JONES JR.

BOX 1140

MIDLOTHIAN, TEXAS 76065

AVAILABLE NOW!

Penn Jones' Volume IV of FORGIVE MY GRIEF is now available

at $6. 00 postpaid.

This book is a continuation of Mr. Jones' eleven-year investigation

into the assassination of President John Kennedy on November 22,

1963.

Volume I was published in 1966; Volume II in 1967; Volume III in

1969 - and now the final volume is ready for shipment.

Jones has published the evidence concerning some of the top men

in the nation -- including Lyndon Johnson --being involved in the con-

spiracy.

Penn Jones, Jr.

Box 1140

Midlothian, Texas 76065

Please send me:

copies FORGIVE MY GRIEF, Vol. IV $ 6.00 ea.

copies VOLUME III 5. 00 ea.

copies VOLUME II 4.00 ea.

copies VOLUME I 4. 00 ea.

Abraham Zapruder film (8mm color) 15. 00 ea.

Clearer copy of Abraham Zapruder film in

super 8mm $20. 00

"The Assassination Story" - a sixty page booklet of reprints from

Dallas newspapers just after the assassination up to Dec. 11,

1963, 8 x 10 1/2, printed on book paper.

Included in this booklet is the famous Dallas Times Herald page

of November 25, 1963 which tells that the FBI learned of the plot

to kill Oswald, and that they notified both the Dallas Sheriff and

the Dallas Police Department at 2:15 a. m. November 24, 1963.

The story was later quashed.

1 copy, $2. 00 2 copies, $3, 00 5 copies, $4. 00

Thompson Bibliography 3.50 ea.

INDEX

222

Adams, Victoria, 9, 13

Aiuppa, Joey, 172

Akin, Dr. Gene, 153

Aldredge, Eugene P., 123

Alexander, William, 100, 101

Allende, Salvador, 209

Altgens, James, 39, 71, 175

Anderson, Jack, 171

Arce, Danny, 9, 87

Arnold, Carolyn, 13, 41

Assassination Tapes, 91, 101

A Texas Looks at Lyndon, 185

"Babushka Lady," 51-54, 56, 90

Bailey, Charles W., 190

Baker, Bobby, 185

Baker, Marion L., 41

Baker, Mrs. Donald, 123

Ball, Joseph, 11, 99

Banister, Guy, 92, 93

Barker, Bernard, 55

Barker, W. E., 87

Barrett, Robert, 182

Barry, Bill, 170

Batchelor, Capt. Charles, 21, 180

Batista, Fulgencio, 171, 172

Baxter, Dr. Charles, 64, 153

Bay of Pigs, 54, 55, 92, 102, 108, 172, 191, 192,

193, 200, 209

Beaubeouf, Alvin, 91, 92

Beckham, Thomas, 164

Beers, Jack, 66, 70

Behn, Jerry, 174

Bell, David E., 200

Bell, F. M., 39

Bell, Jack, 199

Belin, David W., 24, 27, 28, 29, 41, 66

Benevides, Domingo, 112, 113

Benevides, Edward, 112

Bennett, Glen, 61

Bentley, Paul, 101

Bishop, Jim, 198, 199

Bissell, Richard, Jr., 55

Bogard, Albert, 110

Boggs, Hale, 2, 6, 61, 176, 177

Bolden, Abraham, 22

Boone, Eugene, 9

Boswell, J. Thornton, 61, 71, 197

Boudreaux, Anne, 21

Bowen, John Howard, 164

Bowers, Lee, 10, 11, 118, 154

Bowron, Diana, 153

Boyd, Pat, 144

Braden, Jim (Eugene Hale Brading) 85, 86, 87, 173

Bradley, J.C. 103

Brennan, Howard, 158

Breslin, Jimmy, 153

Broshears, Ray, 93

Brown and Root Construction, 185

Brown,Arnold, 178

Brown, Morgan, 85

Bundy, McGeorge, 200

223 Index

Burkley, Adm. George, 21, 62, 65, 66, 76, 77, 197

Burnley, Charles, 99

Butler, Lt. George, 21

Buznedo, Julian, 94

Cabell, Gen. Charles, 192

Cabell, Mrs. Earle, 155, 158

Campbell, Gary 133, 155

Campbell, 0. V., 9, 13, 41

Canada, Capt. R. 0., 197

Canfield, Michael, 82

Capone, Al, 172, 173

Carr, Richard, Randolph, 12, 13, 14, 64, 182

Carr, Waggoner, 25, 176

Carrico, Dr. Charles, 132

Carter, Clifton, 78, 187

Carter, John, 113

Castro, Fidel, 10, 54, 55, 103, 108, 166, 167,

171,172, 173, 189, 192

Central Intelligence Agency, 9, 10, 29, 39, 54, 55,

56, 82, 92, 102, 105, 106, 113, 166, 170, 171,

172, 173, 177, 187, 189, 191, 192,193, 200, 201,

203, 209

Chaney, James, 21, 123

Cheek, Bertha, 102

Cherami, Rose, 57

Chism, John, 18

Church, Sen. Frank, 55

Clark, Dr. Kemp, 63, 76, 153

Clark, Ramsey, 187

Clifton, Maj. Gen. Chester, 198

Coleman, Kay (Kathy Kay) 56, 102

Connally, John B., 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 33, 56, 60, 61, 76,

78, 79, 140-145, 158, 175, 187, 190

Connally, Mrs. John B., 6, 7, 142

Cooper, John, 2, 6

Cooper, Marion, 54

Craig Roger, 9, 14, 15, 26, 27, 28, 29, 70, 88, 99,

144, 161

Crisman, Fred Lee, 82

Cross, Gregg, 197

Crowe, William, Jr. ("Billy DeMar), 56

Cuban Missile Crisis, 189, 191, 192, 193

Curry, Jesse, 9, 27, 45, 161, 178, 180, 182, 179, 187

Dallas Police, 9, 13, 21, 26, 28, 45, 47, 48, 50; 66,

70, 76, 79, 82, 88, 89, 90, 91, 98, 101, 112, 113,

161,169,174,177,178,180,182,186, 194,199

Dal-Tex Building, 14, 84, 85

Dannely, Mrs. Lee, 107

Davis, Avery, 9

Day, Harry, 27

Day, J. C., 66, 72

Dean, Harry, 164

Dean, John, 183

Dean, Patrick T., 23, 24

Decker, Bill, 9, 27, 85, 87, 125, 144, 180

Defense Intelligence Agency, 54, 200

Dillard, Tom,38

Dillon, Douglas, 199

Dobrynin, Antoly, 191

Dodd, Richard, 11

Dowling, Mary, 21

Dudman, Richard, 63, 72

Duff, William, 164

Dulles, Allen, 2, 55, 132, 166, 176, 177, 182, 192,

200, 209

Edwards, Col. Sheffield, 172

Eisenhower, Dwight D., 190, 191, 192

Eisenberg, Melvin, 6

Elkins, Harold, 9, 84

Estes, Billie Sol, 185

Fain, John, 105, 178

Faulkner, Jack, 9

Fay, Paul, 191

FBI Summary Report, 60, 61, 176

FBI Supplemental Report, 60, 61, 176

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12,

13,14, 21, 22, 26, 28, 32, 41, 42, 44, 45, 48, 50,

51, 56, 57, 72, 76, 79, 84, 88, 89, 91, 92, 98, 99,

103,105,106,107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 124,

129, 161, 166, 167, 169, 170, 172, 175, 176-184,

187, 188, 189, 195, 196

Felt, Adm. Harry D., 200

Ferrie, David, 56, 91-94

Finck. Col. Pierre, 7, 61, 195, 196, 197

Fischer, Ronald, 12, 28

Florer, Larry, 84, 85

Ford, Gerald, 2, 8, 19, 20, 22, 24, 28, 29, 63, 201,

208

Ford, Katya, 202

Ford, Trowbridge, 54

Frazier, Buell Wesley, 9, 90, 91, 101

Freund, Carl, 124

Fritz, Capt. J. Will, 27, 50, 79, 161, 179, 186, 187

Gabaldin, Guy, 164

Gallo, Lou, 172

Gandy, Helen, 183

Garner, Darrell Wayne, 112

Garner, Dorothy, 9

Garrison, Jim, 26, 27, 33, 34, 56, 71, 91, 92, 94,

108. 118, 187, 191

Gearhart, Ira, 198

Giancana, Sam, 10, 172

Giesecke, Dr. Adolph, 71

Givens, Charles, 28, 29, 41

Golz, Earl, 86

COVER-UP 224

Gonzales, Manuel Garcia, 164

Gonzales, Virgilio, 55

Gonzales, Rep. Henry B., 78

Gray, Pat, 183

Greer, William, 33, 34, 61, 175

Gregory, Dick, 82

Griffin, Burt, 23, 24, 25

Groden, Robert, 33, 34, 82, 84

Haig, Gen. Alexander, 54

Haley, J. Evetts, 185

Hall, Loran Eugene, 108

Hallet, Oliver, 200

Hannie, W.M., 111

Hargis, Bobby, 9, 152

Harkins, Gen. Paul D., 200

Harkness, D. V., 98, 194

Harris, Jones, 41

Hartman, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne, 158

Hauptman, Bruno, 169

Haygood, Clyde, 9

Hemming, Gerry Patrick, 164

Hester, Charles, 8

Hicks, Jim, 118

Hill, Clint, 23, 33, 61, 175

Hill, Gerald, 100, 101

Hill, Jean, 133, 134, 182, 186

Hoffa, Jimmy, 172, 173

Holland, S. M. 11, 12, 26, 29, 35, 154

Holloway, Adm. C. B., 197

Hoover, J. Edgar, 3, 9, 41, 43, 56, 76, 77, 107, 108,

109, 116, 166, 172, 173, 176-184, 189

Hosty, James, 178, 179, 180, 194

House, Donald Wayne, 88, 89

Howard, Lawrence, 108, 109

Howell, Kenneth, 179, 180

Huber, Father Oscar, 71

Hubert, Leon D., Jr., 20

Hudkins, Alonzo, 21

Hudson, Emmett, 8

Hughes,Howard, 172

Hughes, Robert, 38, 41, 57

Humes, James, 7, 61, 62, 66, 76, 78, 79, 195, 198

Humphreys, Murray, 173

Hunsaker, George T., 88

Hunsaker, Randall, 88

Hunt, E. Howard, 54, 55, 82

Hunt, H. L., 85, 167, 170

Hunt, Lamar, 85

Hunt, Nelson Bunker, 167

Hunter, Bill, 113

Jackson, Robert, 158

January, Wayne, 111

Jarman, James, Jr., 9

Jarnagin, Carroll, 56, 144

Jenkins, Dr. Marion, 71

Jenner, Albert, 182

Johns, Thomas, 175

Johnson, Clemon, 11

Johnson, Lyndon B., 51, 78, 108, 117, 166, 170,

171, 173, 175, 183, 184-189, 193, 198, 200, 209

Johnson, Priscilla, 104

Jones, Dr. Ronald, 64, 153

Jones, Milton, 21

Jones, Penn, Jr., 26, 84, 113, 118, 185

Joseph, Moses, 172

Kellerman, Roy, 23, 61, 71, 142

Kennedy, Edward, 184, 188

Kennedy, John F., -Numerous references

throughout book

Kennedy, Mrs. John F., 22, 23, 33, 153, 175

Kennedy, Regis, 54

Kennedy, Robert, 86, 172, 173, 184, 188, 195

Khrushchev, Nikita, 166, 189, 191, 192

Killam, Hank, 113, 164

Killam, Wanda, 164

King, Leslie Lynch, Jr. (see Ford, Gerald R.)

King, Martin Luther, 84, 119, 169, 176, 184, 188

Kirkwood, Pat, 175

Kissinger, Henry, 209

Knebel, Fletcher, 190

Koethe, Jim, 113

Labriola, Paul, 173

Lane, Mark, 11, 12, 112, 182

Lansky, Meyer, 171

Lattimer, Dr. John K., 71

Lawrence, Jack, 90, 110

Lawson, Winston, 174, 194

Lewis, C. L., 9

Liebeler, Wesley, 44, 45, 47, 99, 123

Life magazine, 7,8,33,48,54,63,125,175

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 193, 200

Lovelady, Billy, 9, 39, 40, 41, 42,

Luciano, "Lucky," 171

Lamumba, Patrice, 209

Luttwak, Edward, 185

MacArthur, Gen. Douglas, 193

MacDonald, Betty M. (Nancy Mooney), 112

MacNamara, Robert, 193, 199, 200

McClelland, Dr. Robert, 63, 64, 70, 153

McCloy, John J., 2, 64, 177, 200, 209

McCone, John, 209

McCord, James, 55

McCurley, A. D., 9

McGovern, Sen. George, 171

McHugh, Brig: Gen. Godfrey, 197

225 Index

McWillie, Lewis, J., 173

Mabra, W. W., 9.

Maheu, Robert, 172

Marcello, Carlos, 92, 172, 173

Martens, Layten, 91, 92

Martin, B. J., 152

Martin, Frank, 20

Martin, John, 39

Martinez, Eugenio, 55

Mather, Carl, 103

Matthews, R. D., 164

Meagher, Sylvia, 2, 3, 14, 28, 50, 88

Mercer, Julia Ann, 10, 11, 14, 26, 29

Military Intelligence, 193, 194

Military, U. S., 170, 189-203

Miller, Austin, 11

Miller, Dusty, 173

Millican, A. J., 8

Milteer, Joseph A., 89, 169, 170

Molina, Joe, 9

Mooney, Luke, 9, 70, 161

Moorman, Mary, 35, 37, 50, 51, 129,

Morrow, Hubert, 111

Muchmore,Marie, 39

Murchison, Clint, Sr., 170, 182, 183

Murphy, Thomas, 11

Murtagh, Arthur, 176

113,118, 122,123, 144, 161, 169, 171, 175, 176,

177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 185, 189, 194, 200, 202

Oswald, Marguerite, 21, 106, 111

Oswald, Marina, 44, 45, 50, 90, 106, 109, 176, 180,

182

Oswald, Robert, 182

O'Toole, George, 90, 101

Oxford, J. L.,9

Paine, Ruth, 45, 91, 182

Patrick, Lenny, 173

Penn, Mrs. Lovell, 111

Pentagon, The, 191, 192, 193, 199, 201

Perrin, Robert and Nancy, 164

Perry, Dr. Malcolm, 63, 64, 66, 153

Peterman, Viola, 21

Petty, Cecil, 102

Piper, Eddie, 13, 41

Pitzer, Lt. William, 22, 198

Powell, James W., 31, 194

Powell, Nancy (Tami True),25, 29

155 Powers, Dave, 9, 10

Price, J. C., 12, 154

Prouty, Col. L. Fletcher, 117, 203

Putnam, J. A., 100

Quigley, John, 178

Newcomb, Fred, 48

Newman, Gail, 8

Newman, Jean, 8

Newman, William, 8

Nitti, Frank, 173

Nix, Orville, 38, 39

Nixon, Richard M., 24, 54, 55, 56, 183, 184, 185,

188, 193, 203, 208

Noguchi, Dr. Thomas, 195

Norman, Harold, 9

Norton, Teresa, 113

Novel, Gordon, 164

Noyes, Peter, 85, 86

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 192, 193

Odio, Sylvia, 107, 108

O'Donnell, Kenneth, 9, 10

Oliver, R. P., 21

Olsen, Harry N., 102

O'Neill, Francis, 22, 60, 61, 76

Operation Big-Lift, 200

Osborne, Capt. David, 197

Oser, Alvin, 195

Oswald, Lee H., 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 21, 22

24,26, 27, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45,

48,50, 54, 56, 57, 66, 70, 76, 79, 82, 87, 88, 90,

91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104-

Rankin, J. Lee, 2, 22, 24, 25, 62, 63, 76, 79, 108,

176, 177

Rather, Dan, 33

Ready, John, 175

Records Building (Dallas County), 140, 143, 144,

145, 194

Redbird Airport (Dallas), 93, 111

Redlich, Norman, 7, 61

Reich, Maximillian, 194

Reid, Ed, 173

Remon, Jose, 54

Revill, Lt. Jack, 178, 179, 194

Reynolds, Warren, 112, 113

Richardson, Sid, 170

Roberts, Earlene, 99, 100, 101, 102

Roberts, Emory, 175

Roberts, Rep. Ray, 155

Robinson, Marvin C.,14

Rockefeller Commission, 28, 29, 82, 201

Rockefeller, David, 209

Rockefeller, Nelson A., 208, 209

Rodriguez, Manuel, 103

Roosevelt, Franklin D., 191

Rose, Guy F., 45

Roselli, John, 10, 172

Rowland, Arnold, 12, 13, 38, 148

Ruby, Jack, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 51, 54, 56, 57,

66, 85, 90, 100, 101, 102, 111, 112, 113, 118,

144,169,173,175,176,179,180,182,185

Rushing, Rev. Ray, 21

Rusk, Dean, 199, 200

Russell, Richard, 2, 6, 177, 201

Salinger, Pierre, 199

Sanders, Barefoot, 25

Santana, Emilio, 164

Seals, Gary, 182

Secret Service, 22,45,50,61,64,66, 71, 78, 91,98,

99, 113, 122, 125, 166, 169, 170, 173-176, 177,

179, 180, 182, 186, 188, 189, 193, 194, 196, 198

Senator, George, 90, 113

Seven Days in May, 190, 191, 202

Seymour, William, 108, 109

Shaneyfelt, Lyndal, 4, 48

Shanklin, J. Gordon, 179, 180

Shaw, Clay, 13, 33, 195

Shaw, Dr. Robert, 7, 63, 76, 129

Shelley, William, 9, 39

Shipp, Bert, 155

Sibert, James, 22, 60, 61, 76

Sikes, Richard, 22

Similas, Norman, 51, 71

Simmons, James, 1 1

Sirhan,. Sirhan, 195

Six Seconds in Dallas, 26,35,38,125, 161

Skelton, Royce G., 123

Smathers,Sen. George, 186

Smith,Edgar, 9

Smith, Joe M., 9, 98, 99

Smith, L. C., 9

Smith, Merriman, 199

Spagnoli, Joseph, 22

Specter, Arlen, 6, 7, 24, 61, 71, 102

Sprague, Richard, 39, 56, 84, 101, 134

Staples, Lou, 124

Steadman, Martin, 63, 76

Stevenson, Adlai, 167, 175

Stoner, Capt. James, Jr., 197

Stovall, Richard, 45

Stringer, John T., 22

Studebaker, R. L., 66, 70

Sturgis, Frank, 54, 55, 82

Sullivan, William C., 180, 183

Summers, Malcolm, 8

Surrey, Robert A., 167

Sweatt, Allen, 50

Tague, James, 122, 126

Tami True (see Powell, Nancy)

Taylor, Gen. Maxwell, 193, 200

Texas School Book Depository, 8,9, 10,11, 12, 13,

14,21,22, 28, 33, 38,39, 41,42, 50, 51, 57,66,

70,84,87,89,90,91,98,99,100,

101, 111, 118,

119,122,124,128,129, 148, 155, 156, 158, 175,

194

Texas Theatre, 32, 41, 50, 100, 101, 182

Thompson, Josiah, 26, 35, 38, 66, 125, 161

Thornley, Keny, 104, 105

Tippit, J.D., 21, 32, 33,82, 88, 102, 103, 112, 144,

182

Trafficante, Santo, 171

Truly, Roy S., 41

Truman, Harry, 190

Twiford, Horace E., 107

Udall, Stewart, 199

"Umbrella Man", 34, 35, 51

Underhill, Gary, 113

Valachi, Joseph, 172

Valentine, Jimmy, 100, 101

Vietnam, 172, 188, 193, 200

Wade, Henry, 187

Walden, Grace, 84

Waldo, Thayer, 21

Walker, Gen. Edwin A,, 43, 44, 45, 47, 102, 112,

167, 189

Wallace, George, 188

Walter, William, 180

Walter, Winborn, 11

Walters, Ralph, 9

Walther, Carolyn, 12, 38

Walthers, Buddy, 9, 72-74, 103

Warren, Earl, 2, 6, 19, 20, 22, 101, 170, 176, 179,

187

Watson, Jack, 9

Weatherford., Harry, 144

Weaver, Jack, 38 3'd

Weberman, A. J., 82

Webster, Robed E., 202

Wecht, Dr. Cyril, 29, 71, 72, 77

Wecher, Tom, 63

Wehle, Maj. Gen. Philip, 197

Weinberg, Jimmy, 173

Weisberg, Harold, 2, 6, 62, 76, 84, 132, 176, 177

Weisman, John, 50

Weissman, Bernard, 167

Weitzman, Seymour, 9, 99

Westbrook, W. R., 100

Whitmeyer, Lt. Col. George, 194

Index

Wiedrich, Bob, 9, 10

Williams, Bonnie Ray, 9, 87

Willis, Bill, 56

Willis, Phil, 34, 84, 118, 133, 134

Wilson, Steven F., 9

Winborn. Walter. 11

Wirtz, W. W., 199

Woodward, Mary,8, 123

Worrell, James, Jr., 14

Yaras, Dave, 173

Yarborough, Sen. Ralph, 186

Youngblood, Jack, 164

Youngblood, Rufus, 186

Zapruder, Abraham, 3, 4, 8, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 51,

117, 122, 128, 133, 141, 148, 149